Described by many as the ultimate transport solution, solar fuels will finally receive a significant financial investment as the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced plans to invest up to $366million to establish three new Energy Innovation Hubs.

The Hubs will focus on three key areas including developing an effective solar energy to chemical fuel conversion system. Each will be funded at up to $122million over five years and will bring together a team of researchers in an effort to speed up scientific discovery to technological development.

With basic research already providing significant advances in the understanding of the photochemistry associated with the natural photosynthetic system, the DOE admits that there has still yet to be sufficient knowledge ascertained regarding the design of solar fuel generation systems with the required efficiency and sustainability for economic viability. So, the task of the Fuels from Sunlight Hub is to develop a solar fuels system that can operate at an overall efficiency and produce fuel with sufficient energy content to enable transition to proof of concept prototyping.

Among the critical issues that will be examined are: the understanding and designing of catalytic complexes or solids that generate chemical fuel from CO2 and water; integration of all essential elements from light capture to fuel formation; evaluation of the solar fuel system under development; improving energy efficient building systems design; and computer modelling and simulation for the development of advanced nuclear reactors.

The DOE is expected to provide $22million during the first year for the establishment of each Hub with a further $25million per year for each of the following four years to support operations.

If there is one form of transport that is even cleaner than zero emission electric vehicles, it has to be the bicycle. So while the city of Amsterdam eagerly promotes the use of electric vehicles it has met a tough proponent in the form of the cyclist.

Established as one of the most bike-friendly cities in the world, Amsterdam has successfully promoted the use of bicycles with around 550,000 parking sports reserved for bikes only compared to just 180,000 parking spots for cars. Indeed, according to research, cyclists are responsible for around 55 per cent of all movement within the city centre.

However, now the city hopes to have 10,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2015 and four times that number by 2020 leaving some cyclists fearing that the number of people who travel on their bikes will diminish.

According to Mariolein de Lange, a member of the cycling union Fietsersbond, the fear is that more parking spaces will mean more cars. It is their belief that as the bike is already one of the most efficient transportation options available and works for the city, there is no need to change. While they are not against the promotion of electric vehicles to replace petrol cars, they are worried that cyclists will slowly convert to electric vehicle use too.

What do you think about this? Do you think cycle lanes and spaces should be removed to promote electric cars? Leave a comment below with your thoughts.

The UK may like to believe it is at the forefront of the electric car revolution, but one electric car company believes its efforts are severely lacking.

The Electric Car Corporation, which currently assembles its Citroen C1 Ev’ie electric car in Flitwick, has decided to set up a production facility in Denmark to cater for the large demand for its cars in Europe. However, while the expansion is good news, it has hit out at the lack of assistance from the Government to help the emerging market.

Under existing Government plans, from 2011 drivers will be offered a £5,000 subsidy to buy an electric or hybrid car but at the moment there are no such incentives to encourage private purchases. Instead, only company car drivers benefit by facing no tax on their cars for five years as part of the pre-budget report.

According to David Martell, the Electric Car Corporation’s chief executive, the delay of these subsidies is leading to the UK falling behind Europe in the electric car sector. He commented that the assembly plant in Bedfordshire has been fully occupied through the last few months and they would like to increase capacity and employment to meet high demand. As such, he has written to the government to outline how the company can help put the UK on the map but they have declined to offer any assistance leaving the company no choice but to further its production in Denmark.

The company’s ev’ie is an all-electric four-seat city car based on the Citroen C1 with a range of 60-70 miles and the ability to reach a top speed of 60mph. The Electric Car Corporation hopes to sell more than 1,000 of the models in Scandinavia in 2010 and will rely on its Danish production facility to meet demand in both the Scandinavian and German markets, boosted by subsidies in these areas.

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and Growth Energy have filed a complaint in the Federal District Court in Fresno, California, which challenges the constitutionality of the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard.

The two organisations believes that the standard violates both the Supremacy Clause and the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution as it calls for at least a 10 per cent reduction from 2006 levels in carbon intensity of California’s transportation fuels by 2020.  The existing regulation also levies the calculation of Indirect Land Use Change effects against biofuels to the detriment of corn ethanol.

However, the Supremacy Clause establishes that state judges be bound by “the supreme Law of the Land” and the Commerce Clause gives Congress the power to regulate commerce “with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with Indian Tribes”.

In their statement, the groups outline that the Low Carbon Fuel Standard contradicts the 2007 Energy Independence Security Act which singled out the importance of domestic ethanol for the nation’s environment, security and economy. It states that by closing California’s borders to corn ethanol from other states, the low carbon fuel standard changes how corn is farmed and ethanol is produced all over the country. It goes on to say that the standard imposes “excessive” burdens on the domestic ethanol industry “while providing no benefit to Californians”.

Bob Dinneen, RFA President and CEO, also sent a letter to Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board (ARB) and Susan Lapsley, director of California’s Office of Administrative Law (OAL), claiming that the Air Resources Board has failed to respond to significant comments submitted by the RFA and other stakeholders. He believes that, based on current data and information, the ILUC penalty for corn ethanol should have been in the range of 4-11gCO2e/MJ, rather than the existing estimate of 30g/CO2e/MJ.

Given the fact that it has already been at the epicentre of numerous green car developments, it should come as no surprise that the name Toyota has taken another giant leap forward for green motoring.

Toyota Industries Corp has developed a solar charging station for both electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles with the municipal government of Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, planning to build 21 stations at 11 locations including the municipal office and branch offices.

Operation of the stations will begin in April with 20 Prius Plug-in Hybrids to take their power from the station that is connected to the grid and also captures power generated by the 1.9kW solar panel in an 8.4kWh storage battery. Self-sustained operation using solar power from the battery pack has a maximum output of 101VAC/1.5kVA.

Any excess power that is generated can be used for facilities in the system or sold to a utility company with Toyota expecting that the station can also be used to provide power for electrical equipment in the event of a disaster.

The company has been involved in developing charging systems for electric vehicles since the 1990s and, at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show, it displayed newly developed charging stands with communication devices. These allow for user authentication using IC card technology while also enabling the collection of data such as usage conditions of the charging service and amount of power used.

According to its press briefing at the show it hopes to increase charging functionality and respond to the needs of charging infrastructure through the development of electronic billing and solar charging stations that further reduce environmental impact.

A new biomass-to-liquids unit has been launched by the French CEA (Atomic Energy Commission, now to be called the Atomic and Alternative Energy Commission).

Located in Bure Saudron, 80km east from Nancy in north-eastern France, the pilot will demonstrate a complete biomass-to-liquids production chain: this includes gathering and conditioning of biomass, gasification, gas processing and conversion to synthetic fuel via the Fischer-Tropsch process. The experience should help establish a biomass-to-liquids sector for both process integration techniques and to help define a regional economic model.

It is expected that the pilot plant will use around 75,000 tonnes per year of forest and local agricultural residue to help produce around 23,000 tonnes/year of second generation biofuel including diesel, kerosene and naptha.

At the moment, the biomass-to-liquids process is limited by the mass yield of end products. The Bure Saudron project will experiment with a new process to increase efficiency – the ratio of hydrogen to carbon monoxide generated during the synthesis stage of the fuel will be greatly enhanced by the external input of hydrogen. According to the French CEA, this will be a world first.

Bure Saudron has been chosen partly based on commitments made in 2006 to support the economic development of territories that are home to laboratory research on the deep geological storage of nuclear waste.

On behalf of the entire team here at TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our readers a wonderful Christmas.

Here at TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk there is no respite and you can expect our news section to continue to be updated several times daily throughout the Christmas and New Year period – so when you’re taking a break from the family celebrations be sure to check back for the latest developments in the world of green motoring.

Thank you so much for your support throughout the year to date and may your Christmas be full of joy and happy memories.

All the best,

Paul Lucas and the entire TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk team

Efforts to give one of the most iconic symbols of London transport an environmental makeover have taken another step forward after Transport for London (TfL) selected Wrightbus as its preferred manufacturer.

The New Bus for London will be based on the iconic Routemaster after TfL held an open design contest for new buses in London in 2008 with the results to be passed on to the selected manufacturer – in this case Wrightbus. The new bus incorporates hybrid technology and is 40 per cent more fuel efficient than conventional diesel buses and 15 per cent more fuel efficient than existing London hybrid buses. Nitrogen oxide emissions have also been slashed by 40 per cent while PM has been reduced by 33 per cent compared to diesel buses.

Among the buses’ features is an open platform that allows the reinstatement of the hop-on, hop-off bus service. It will have the facility to be closed at certain times and the bus will have three doors and two staircases giving it an innovative new design and smoother boarding. Passenger capacity is expected to be at least 87.

Currently, Wrightbus is working on the final design which is expected early in the New Year with the aim of putting the first new bus on the streets of London in 2011. Meanwhile, TfL will continue to convert its fleet to hybrid technology including retrofitting buses to Euro 4 standard as part of the Mayor’s Air Quality Strategy.

Anyone who feared that Volvo may go the way of fellow Swedish brand Saab will be relieved to hear that the Ford Motor Company is confident a sale will be complete during the first quarter of 2010.

Ford has confirmed that all substantive commercial terms relating to the sale have been settled with Zheijang Geely Holding Group Company Limited. Though some work is still to be completed – such as final documentation, government approvals and financing – both companies anticipate that a definitive sales agreement will be reached in the coming months with the closure of the sale expected in the second quarter of 2010.

According to reports, the sale would ensure that Volvo has the resources necessary to strengthen the business and build a global franchise while Ford continues to focus on its ONE Ford strategy.

Ford will continue to co-operate with Volvo Cars after the potential sale but does not intend to retain a share-holding. More details will be revealed once a definitive sale agreement has been signed.

Go out for a drive with the family during the month of December and there’s a new car game to play – count the number of UPS vans. With so many on the streets beating Santa to his delivery deadline, it’s reassuring to know that the company has made significant steps forward in reducing its fuel consumption.

The UPS first-generation diesel hybrid delivery vans have improved on-road fuel economy by 28.9 per cent, which equates to a 15 per cent improvement in total cost per mile according to an assessment from the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The laboratory’s Fleet Test & Evaluation team performed a 12month evaluation of six MY2007 P70D hybrid vans and six MY2006 P70D standard diesel vans at a UPS location in Phoenix analysing performance data including maintenance and fuel economy.

Average fuel economy for the P70 hybrid vans is 13.1mpg – that’s 28.9 per cent greater than the diesel van group’s 10.2mpg. The P100 hybrid vans showed a 31-37 per cent fuel economy improvement over conventional P100 vans and there were improvements in emissions although results varied based on the cycle being run. Total maintenance cost per mile was $0.140, which is eight per cent less than the diesel vans and propulsion related maintenance cost $0.034 for the hybrid vans – that’s five per cent less than the $0.036 for the diesel vans.

The hybrid systems are provided by Eaton Corp and were manufactured by Freightliner Corp. They employ an Eaton automated transmission with integrated motor/generator and a 1.8kWh lithium-ion battery pack. Both the Freightliner hybrid model and the conventional model use a Mercedes Benz MBE 904 four-cylinder diesel engine.

The hybrids are part of UPS’s first group of 50 electric vans – last year UPS ordered an additional 200 hybrids with additional features and updates.