It has been abundantly clear for quite some time that China is serious about pushing electric vehicles – and now there is some physical evidence to match the legislation and hype.

The country’s largest electric vehicle charging stations were put into service earlier this week as two stations with 134 stands were opened at the Universiade Centre in Shenzen.

The centre is equipped with six express charges that can provide charging to taxis, buses and cars and the station is large enough to serve 12 automobiles at once. It has been boosted by a 10.52million yuan investment. Meanwhile, 134 charging poles have been erected primarily in public and community car parks in each district of Shenzen with the majority using the slow charging mode that facilitates drivers to charge their cars during the off-peak period overnight.

The electric vehicle charging station is seen as a landmark project. With Shenzen to host the World University Games in August 2011, it has been built at a cost of $548million and includes a main sports stadium, swimming complex and multi-functional arena. All shuttle buses between the village and main event venues will be powered by green energy.

Shenzen was originally selected as one of 14 model cities to promote energy saving and new energy vehicles by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance and the National Development and Reform Commission in March, 2009. It is hoped that by 2012, the city will boast more than 24,000 new energy vehicles and that this number will increase to 100,000 – around six per cent of the overall total – by 2015.

California has been the hub for the implementation of green cars in the USA, but what impact will these new technologies have on electricity demand in the state?

Researchers at the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies have found that near-term marginal electricity mix for plug-in electric and fuel cell vehicles and fuels in California will come from natural gas powered plants, including as much as 40 per cent from relatively inefficient steam- and combustion-turbine plants.

The report suggests that the marginal electricity emissions rate will be higher than the average rate from all generation and will likely be more than 60 per cent higher than the value estimated in the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. However, even with the relatively high fuel carbon intensity, the study does conclude that these alternative vehicle and fuel platforms still reduce emissions compared to conventional petrol and hybrid models, thanks to improved vehicle efficiency.

The study will be published in the April 2010 issue of the Journal of Power Sources and saw the authors develop hourly electricity demand profiles for seven vehicle and fuel pathway scenarios. Conventional internal combustion engines and hybrid electric vehicles were compared to plug-in hybrids, battery electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles while the study also looked at the sensitivities of electricity supply and emissions to hydro-power availability, along with timing of electricity demand including vehicle recharging.

According to one of the authors, Ryan McCarthy, electricity generation must match demand continuously and adding electricity demand from vehicle recharging or hydrogen production will require additional power to be generated. He believes that electricity demand from these vehicles will only have a minor impact on overall demand.

In terms of vehicle emissions, the study found that all of the pathways, except for fuel cell vehicles using hydrogen from electrolysis, reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to internal combustion engines and hybrid electric vehicles. Fuel cell vehicles using hydrogen from steam methane reforming and battery electric vehicles recharging according to load-level profile, reduce emissions the most – by more than 25 per cent compared to hybrid electric vehicles; while off-peak charging reduces emissions by 21 per cent compared to hybrid electric vehicles.

After enjoying huge success in North America, the hybrid version of the Toyota Camry will begin production in China in 2010 courtesy of Guangzhou Toyota.

The Camry Hybrid was initially introduced to the Chinese market at the 2009 Shanghai Motor Show and now Guangzhou has set a 2010 sales goal of 170,000 Camry vehicles (including the hybrid). In addition it hopes to sell 75,000 Highlander models and 22,000 Yaris models as it expands its in-country sales outlets to 300 from 210.

During 2009, the company expects sales of the 2.4litre Camry to reach about 93,000 units – so there would need to be a significant sales increase with the introduction of the hybrid model if the firm is to reach its latest goal.

BMW is putting its real world road testing of its famous Hydrogen 7-Series on hold, due to a ‘lack of infrastructure and high conversion costs,’ AllCarsElectric.com reports.

However the carmaker is not abandoning the technology and is to continue its development of hydrogen engines and liquid hydrogen fuel systems will continue, a company spokesperson told the web publication.

After more than 2 million miles of testing, BMW is to end trials of the Hydrogen 7 Series after a two-year global test of 100 examples of the sedan by early next year.

BMW focused its hydrogen research around developing an internal combustion system using liquid hydrogen, while others like Honda and its FCX Clarity use a compressed hydrogen fuel tank which feeds a fuel cell to produce electricity.

Although BMW’s method had its merits, for one, it would allow the continuation of the combustion engine while facilitating the need for cleaner running. However costs and of this method proved high while fuel efficiency was disappointing. The tank in the Hydrogen 7 chilled the gas to a liquid at -253 degrees (rather than compressing it to around 800 bar as others have done), a process that takes around a third of the energy in the tank to achieve. The Hydrogen 7-Series needed 29.4 litres to run 100km while its range stood at no more than 200km.

BMW is to focus its resources on hybrid and battery technologies instead.

We are less than a week away from the launch of a large-scale battery electric vehicle field trial in Germany.

The ColognE-Mobile project brings together four partners – Ford-Werke GmbH, RheinEnergie AG, the city of Cologne and the University of Duisburg-Essen – to test electrical mobility under everyday conditions.

Ford will supply 25 battery electric vehicles for the €15million project, starting with 10 Ford Transit vehicles while RheinEnergie AG will deliver carbon dioxide (CO2) neutral power to drive the vehicles while exploring the topic of “electricity as fuel”. The city of Cologne will look at the effect on the city’s climate and noise control objectives and safety for repair and salvage situations.

Researchers will examine consumer acceptance of electric vehicles as part of efforts being undertaken by the Rhine-Ruhr region to examine e-mobility. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport with the Rhine-Ruhr region being one of eight model regions awarded a total of €115million as part of the “national development plan for electric mobility” which has the aim of putting one million electric cars on German roads by 2020.

The state government hopes to make the North Rhine-Westphalia region the first large-scale electric mobility model in Europe and hopes to have 250,000 electric vehicles on its streets by 2020.

While it may not have a world renowned car manufacturer to call its own, Russia is still keen to play a part in the green car race as indicated by the supervisory board of the Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies approving the state corporation’s participation in a project to manufacture lithium-ion batteries.

RusNano, which co-invests in nanotechnology industry projects, will team with China-based lithium-ion battery manufacturer Thunder Sky to manufacture the batteries in what is the first such project in Russia. Thunder Sky, which was founded in 1998, currently has two production lines with annual capacity of 60millionAh and at the end of this year it launched an additional fully automatic battery production line with a capacity of 100millionAh a year.

The batteries will primarily be used in electric vehicles, including buses and motorcycles, while Thunder Sky plans to buy a large part of the Russian factory’s products to fulfil contracts with Chinese producers of electric transport. It is expected that the Russian market will be targeted too, as demand in the country grows.

A plant will be built in Novosibirsk with four production lines from Thunder Sky. Capacity will be around 300millionAh annually when production begins in 2011, although this will rise to 400millionAh annually in 2012. RusNano itself will contribute 2.24billion rubles to the equity of the new company and extend a loan of up to 5.5billion rubles. Thunder Sky will match the 2.24billion investment with the external co-investor to loan 3.9billion rubles.

According to Sergei Polikarnov, RusNano managing director, manufacturing will be localised in Russia with Russian companies supplying raw materials. The endeavour will create 500 new jobs and contribute more than seven billion rubles in taxes to federal and regional budgets between 2010 and 2015.

The founder of green energy supplier, Ecotricity is to launch an electric supercar.

Dale Vince is to attempt to break the current British electric land speed record of 137mph in February in his racing car dubbed Nemesis.

According to The Times, Dale Vince is Britain’s richest green entrepreneur, worth £58 million after he launched Ecotricity, an energy provider which invests profits into wind turbines.

Nemesis, developed by Formula One engineers, cost £400,000 to build. In tests so far, it can reach 60mph in less than four seconds. It can run 150 miles between charges and can be powered in one hour from a high charge or eight hours from the mains supply. Dubbed the ‘first wind-powered car’, Nemesis has been run on purely wind-generated electricity.

Vince told the newspaper he is confident he will break the land speed record set in August 2000 by Don Wales.

All waste automotive batteries will have to be recycled in the future at the manufacturer’s expense, as new legislation comes into effect on 1 January 2010.

Producers of automotive batteries and industrial batteries will be required to arrange the collection, treatment and recycling of such batteries, free of charge, if requested by business end-users and final holders.

The new regulations will also require battery manufacturers to register as battery makers and to report on waste batteries collected and sent for recycling.

The new law will help ease concerns about the sustainability of automotive batteries as carmakers become increasingly dependant on them as a primary source for powering their cars. Batteries are set to become a more substantial part of the make-up of a car as electric and hybrid cars become more commonplace.

The Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009 complement the existing Batteries and Accumulators (Placing on the Market) regulations 2008, which set out the requirements for introducing new batteries onto the market from 26 September last year.

These regulations also introduce a ban on the landfill disposal or incineration of waste industrial and automotive batteries.

Ian Lucas, Minister for Business and Regulatory Reform, said: “These regulations are designed to complement the excellent recycling rates traditionally achieved for industrial and automotive batteries.

“In simple terms, business users of industrial batteries, and final holders of automotive batteries, such as garages, End-of-Life Vehicle authorised treatment facilities, and Civic Amenity site operators, will no longer be faced with the costs that may be incurred through recycling scrap batteries. These costs will now be met by the producers.”

From the continued dominance of Japanese manufacturers to the vehicle scrappage scheme; with everything from bankruptcy to exciting new concepts in between – it’s been an enthralling year for green cars and here we look back at the key developments….

2009: A YEAR IN REVIEW FOR GREEN CARS.

From the death of Michael Jackson to a plane landing on the Hudson River, 2009 has been a typically newsworthy 12 months – but for green cars it has proven to be a breakthrough period.

This year has seen green cars go mainstream – no longer a niche topic among environmentalists, they are now widely accepted as the transport means of the future with the bulk of the leading car manufacturers attempting to find sustainable solutions for their vehicles and introducing a host of electric, hydrogen and hybrid concepts while pouring money into research.

In this Green Piece special we look back on the year and remind you of the five key stories that influenced the most important period yet for the green transformation of the motoring industry.

BANKRUPTCY, RECESSION AND A GREENER FUTURE

2009 began with the industry still reeling from the ongoing global economic crisis and green cars emerging as a serious alternative to prevent similar failings in the future.

Detroit’s big three – Ford, Chrysler and General Motors – all teetered on the edge of doom with the latter two falling into bankruptcy despite a US government bailout. Emerging from the crisis however, all three have placed a renewed emphasis on greener models. Ford will continue its line-up of energy efficient EcoNetic models such as the 70mpg barrier busting Ford Focus (see article) and continue to push its highly successful hybrid models (see article); General Motors is promising exciting new vehicles such as the range extending Chevrolet Volt (see article) and the new small car, the Chevrolet Spark (see article); while Chrysler formed a new partnership with Fiat that promises to launch vehicles such as the Fiat 500 Multi-Air with significant fuel economy savings in the North American market (see article).

JAPAN CONTINUES TO DOMINATE

While the American manufacturers scampered to play catch-up in the green car race, it was another year of dominance in the sector from Japanese giants Toyota, Honda and Nissan.

Honda launched its Honda Insight Hybrid model (see article) and briefly matched the Toyota Prius in sales; only for the world’s most popular green car to release its third generation model and once again establish a clear advantage (see article). Toyota and Honda also worked on a host of new concepts through the year including the Honda CR-Z Concept (see article), a Prius Plug-in Hybrid model (see article) and even a solar charging plant from Toyota (see article).

Nissan wasn’t to be outdone however, putting its focus firmly on electric cars thanks to its strategic alliance with Renault and Better Place that has seen it forge electric car partnerships throughout the world (see article). Perhaps its key innovation during the year however, was the announcement of the Nissan LEAF model (see article) with a range of more than 100 miles on a single charge.

SCRAPPAGE SCHEME BOOSTS INDUSTRY BUT FAILS TO GO GREEN

It would be tough to deny the success of the vehicle scrappage scheme as it boosted the auto industry during its most testing period in decades and sparked a revival in new car sales. However, for many green car enthusiasts it was a missed opportunity.

The Government’s failure to tie the scheme to cars with low emissions (effectively you could scrap your old car in favour of a new car that emits twice as much carbon dioxide) sparked anger among many environmentalist groups. We offered our own take on the situation in our very first Green Piece Column, which you can read here.

CHINESE MANUFACTURERS MAKE THEIR MARK

While the automotive industry has always been dominated by American, European and Japanese manufacturers, the effective transition to green cars opened the door for a new nation to emerge as a serious contender – China.

The Chinese government adopted a plan in April to turn the country into one of the leading manufacturers of hybrid and electric cars with significant subsidies (see article). With China proving an important playground for vehicle manufacturers thanks to its position as a rapidly developing market, home-grown companies such as BYD Auto and Chery Automobile started to produce electric cars (see article) to compete with the established players. BYD’s emergence has been among the most notable thanks to the F3DM, the world’s first mass produced plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

DRESSED FOR SUCCESS

Finally it’s been an award winning year here at TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk (see article) but it was our own awards that really grabbed the headlines as Volvo scooped both our Green Car Manufacturer of the Year and Green Car of the Year (for the Volvo C30 DRIVe) titles in our end of year honours (see article). The Volvo C30 DRIVe with stop/start offers fuel efficiency at 74.3mpg combined and class-leading emissions of 99g/km of CO2, meaning that the C30 will give you around 857 miles to a tank. Nevertheless, despite its credentials, it was still a surprise to see it storm ahead of more established vehicles in our readers’ poll – a clear sign that green car devotees are ready to embrace exciting new models.

Next week we’ll take a look at some of those mouth-watering concepts as part of our preview of 2010 – but for now, on behalf of TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk thank you for a wonderful 2009 and happy new year.

Not to be outdone in the green car race, Audi has revealed plans to invest €7.3billion in fixed assets for 2009 through 2012 with approximately €5.9billion to be devoted to new product development.

The bulk of this cash will go towards optimising conventional drivelines and developing electric and hybrid models. By 2015, the company hopes to have an enlarged portfolio that will boost its existing 34 models to 42.

You won’t have to wait long for the expansion of Audi either – from next year the company will launch a new series of cars in the form of the A1, A7, A8 and R8 Spyder. By the end of the year it will also unveil the Audi Q5 Hybrid, which will reach the market by the start of 2011 and will be the company’s first hybrid model.

Around €2.5billion will be invested at Ingolstadt, while about €1.3billion will be pumped into Neckarsulm. Ingolstadt will benefit from a new transmission and emissions centre with other investment priorities including stamping tools for the new Audi A1 and manufacturing structures for the A3 and A4 models. Meanwhile, the investment focus at Neckarsulm will be on the A6, A7, and A8 models as well as new engine function test rigs.