The two companies have already a pretty extensive history in collaboration, with the forthcoming Citroen C-Zero and Peugeot i0n both based on the Mitsubishi iMiEV.

Now this collaboration has been extended with the news of a new feasibility study to be carried out by the two parties with the expectation of a new all electric light commercial vehicle being developed.

The study will centre around the development and supply of electric powertrains and will include an analysis of battery packaging.

There is no news yet on whether the light commercial vehicle will be based around an existing model or whether the partnership will collaborate on an entirely new vehicle. At TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk we speculate that it would make sense to develop a new platform for any commercial application to minimise any loss of space that housing numerous battery packs would bring.

As always, more information when we get it.

The Gordon Murray Design T.25 electric city car made its first public appearance this week at the Smith School World Forum on Enterprise and Environment in Oxford.

The small electric car model debuted on Monday, displaying its unique and holistic design especially catered for electric operations and designed to also reduce weight, increase efficiency and ease of use.

The model features a world-leading 6 metre turning circle to help it manoeuvre in urban environments. Just 1.3 metres wide, two of the electric car models can travel alongside each other in one lane. Combined with a short body length, the team at Gordon Murray say its car could triple lane usage at peak times. The T.25’s short length also opens an opportunity to park end on to the curb and the door opening allows three cars to be parked in one parallel parking space.

Gordon Murray Design was established in 2007 to develop an innovative automotive manufacturing technology trademarked iStream® and the design the T.25 city car.

The iStream® assembly process is a simplified method of producing cars which means that the manufacturing plant can be designed to be 20 per cent of the size of a conventional factory. This reduces capital investment in the assembly plant by at least 80 per cent and significantly reduces associated carbon emissions during production. Yet the flexibility of this assembly process means that the same factory could be used to manufacture different variants.

Welcoming the car to Oxford, Sir David King, Founding Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment said: “Our transport sector is hugely dependent on fossil fuels and we need to de-fossilise our economy as quickly as possible. We know most of the technologies already exist in delivering low carbon transportation and the T.25 and iStream® manufacturing processes are clear examples of how the transition can bring new and exciting developments”.

The T.25 has recently been seen testing on public roads and has featured in many publications but the Smith School World Forum is the first public appearance.

Professor Gordon Murray, CEO & Technical Director of Gordon Murray Design said: “We are very privileged to have been asked to show T.25 publicly for the first time at the World Forum as the aims of our Company are very much aligned with those of the Smith School and therefore this global event.”

The car has a range of 80-100 miles and a top speed of 65mph. It can accelerate from 0-100km/h in less than 15 seconds.

A press advert for one of Porsche’s hybrid models has been found to be ‘misleading’ as it was ruled to suggest that Cayenne S Hybrid model can operate without the use of its combustion engine for an unlimited time.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled against the German carmaker after a press advert which stated “More performance, less fuel … The new Cayenne S Hybrid can even travel to a speed of 37mph without using its V6 petrol engine” was ruled to imply that the car could travel at this speed for any distance without engaging its petrol engine.

The carmaker explained that the Cayenne S Hybrid could travel for short distances without using its engine at this speed. Furthermore, it said that the distance it could cover without the engine was determined by external conditions and individual driver behaviour making it impossible for them to specify a particular distance.

Nonetheless the authority ruled that the carmaker should have made it clear that the car could only travel for a limited distance on battery power alone and in the absence of that clarification, it was likely to mislead.

The authority has instructed Porsche that the ad should not appear again in its current form as it breaches CAP Code clauses 7.1 and 7.2 (Truthfulness).

A report from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) calls for a ‘step change’ in the way we generate and use power as it reveals that the UK is only set to meet its first carbon emissions target due to the global economic downturn.

The government advisory committee releases its second annual report today which states that the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 8.6 per cent last year-mainly driven by the recession and high fossil fuel prices.

Committee chairman Lord Adair Turner told the BBC: "The recession has created the illusion that progress is being made to reduce emissions

"Our analysis shows that this is almost wholly due to a reduction in economic activity, and not from new measures being introduced to tackle climate change.

"So we are repeating our call for new policy approaches to drive the required step change, in order that the UK can ensure a low-carbon recovery."

The committee identifies four areas where big changes are needed to help the UK meet its commitments to reduce emissions. These include investing in electric cars and electricity generation; where a programme of incentives and disincentives is needed to encourage generators to adopt low-carbon technologies. The committee also call for greater push towards better home insulation, setting more ambitious targets for the number of electric cars on the road, and protecting funds aimed at speeding their introduction while farmers should be encouraged to use fertilisers more efficiently, reducing emissions and cost.

The call for protection of funding into electric cars comes as the forthcoming £5,000 electric car grant programme comes under threat. Last week, Transport secretary, Philip Hammond said that incentives for electric and plug-in hybrids were likely to go ahead but he could not guarantee that grants would be as high as the £5,000 promised by the previous Labour government as the new Coalition government looks to reduce the Budget deficit.

Transport projects such as the grants planned to be introduced in January 2011 are expected to feel the squeeze as the new Government slashes spending.

However the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) says that the report should ‘act as a shot across the bows for Government transport and planning policy’, encouraging further investment into transport sector-particularly for public transport-to help the UK meet its emissions targets.

Campaign for Better Transport’s executive director Stephen Joseph said: "The Committee on Climate Change’s report shows that we need to encourage greater use of trains and buses if we are to meet our carbon targets. Yet the new Coalition Government is now considering measures that would actually put people off using public transport by increasing fares and failing to tackle overcrowding."

"The Committee’s report should influence the spending review by prioritising smarter choices, such as travel plans for schools and workplaces. The Government’s planning policy should also promote developments less dependent on cars, rather than nodding through high-carbon developments as they have with plans to redevelop Brent Cross.

Electric car maker Tesla Motors enjoyed an incredible first day of trading as its shares jumped above the offer price.

Closing at $23.89 per share yesterday, this was a whopping 40.5 per cent above its $17 offer price despite a day of broader market turmoil.

It’s one in the eye for critics who believed that the company would struggle based on its lack of profit and the fact that it currently only has one vehicle on the market – that being the Tesla Roadster, a pricy model that few can afford (although a lower cost model is being worked on).

Even the chief executive of Edmunds.com called the investment a risk while the Wall Street Journal questioned whether it was “all swagger and no substance”.

However, Tesla has, at least for now, shown that people are willing to invest in an electrified future.

As researchers continue to look into ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, natural gas has emerged as a potentially prominent player.

According to a major new interim report from MIT, natural gas has a leading role to play in reducing harmful emissions primarily by replacing old, inefficient coal plants with highly efficient combined cycle gas generation.

Indeed its role is likely to spread to the transportation sector, albeit on a smaller level. It is predicted that the use of compressed and liquefied natural gas could help displace oil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By making methanol from natural gas there is a lower conversion cost and this could help reduce oil use and improve energy security, albeit it would not reduce emissions significantly.

The MIT Energy Initiative carried out a two year study and examined the scale of US natural gas reserves as well as the potential of the fuel to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It also puts forward a host of specific requirements for legislative and regulatory policies and recommendations for the energy industry.    

It suggests that in the near term, one of the major factors that could make a significant difference to reducing carbon emissions would be replacing the oldest and least-efficient coal plants with the most efficient modern combined cycle gas plants. It also outlines that natural gas consumption will increase dramatically and will largely displace coal in the power generation sector by 2050, helping industrialised nations reduce emissions by 50 per cent by 2050.

For more information, check out this report.

Another partnership has been formed as companies work towards the development of renewable energy and electric vehicles.

Raser Technologies Inc has signed a memorandum of understanding with Hyundai Heavy Industries that sets out two projects intended to lead to a broader long-term relationship to develop renewable energy. It also outlines the first phase of commercial production of electric fleet vehicles that use Hyundai’s high-tech engineering and manufacturing coupled with Raser’s extended electric vehicle powertrain technology.

It was just two years ago at the SAE World Congress in Detroit that Raser unveiled its extended range series plug-in hybrid electric vehicle drive system – and then the following year it showcased a HUMMER H3 converted with the powertrain. Preliminary testing showed a 50-mile all-electric range.

The memorandum of understanding also launches the first phase of commercial production of the extended range electric vehicles to fill orders from US government and commercial fleets.

In addition, a proposed solar power project will be built at Raser’s Thermo site in southern Utah. It will use photovoltaic solar panels and transmission equipment manufactured by Hyundai Heavy Industries and will help in developing renewable energy projects on Raser’s holdings.

A two fold increase in energy density will be required over the next 30 years, according to one scientist reviewing the challenges facing lithium-ion battery development.

Dr Jean-Marie Tarascon, a materials scientist of the Laboratoire réactivité et chimie des solides (LRCS) at Université de Picardie Jules Verne, outlines that for applications from which cost and material resources are crucial, organic li-ion and na-ion will play an important role for years to come.

In his paper, Dr Tarascon suggests that there is a colossal task ahead if batteries are to really compete with petroleum as an increase by a factor of 15 is needed for the energy delivered by a battery to match that of a litre of petrol. He says that the energy density of batteries has only increased by a factor of five over the last two centuries and the chances of a 10-fold increase over the next few years are slim without unexpected research breakthroughs.

However, he does believe there is room for optimism if there is a pursuit of paradigm shifts while also looking into materials sustainability – such as ways to prepare electrode materials through eco-efficient processes or the use of organic not inorganic materials and new chemistries.

He believes that the chances of drastically improving lithium-ion cell energy density are primarily rooted in cathode materials that are highly oxidising or larger capacity.

In the long term he believes that improving lithium-ion technology and preserving its sustainable aspect will need out of the box solutions. However, with an increasing number of groups becoming involved with the system there is promise. He warns however that solutions need to be found quickly and there is a need for cross sharing of information between national programmes to deal with energy related matters.

A London hotel is set to offer electric cars for hire to its guests free of charge.

Base2Stay in Kensington is to offer its customers up to four hours of free hire of an Citroen EV’ie throughout the summer, Travelmole.com reports.

The car, supplied by rental firm, Move About, will then be hire out for out at £4 per hour, £20 for a half-day or £30 a day from October 1, 2010 when the hotel ends its freebie offer. Even so, this apparently works out cheaper than bike hire for the family.

The car can be re-charged for free at the hotel too.The EV’ie is based on the Citroen C1 and seats up to five people. It has a 60-75-mile range, a top speed of 60mph and a full charge time of six to seven hours.

The car is also exempt from the city’s congestion charge and qualifies for free parking in many areas.

The Zero Carbon Britain report has come under a blistering attack from the Institute of Science in Society (ISIS) for making ‘fallacious assumption about biofuels’. So writes Patrick Noble on behalf of the society who says that instead of a ‘Zero Carbon Britain’ we could end up with a ‘Dust Bowl Britain’ if we blindly assume the environmental assessments made in the report are correct.

The report published by the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) details ways in which the country can cut its carbon emissions in half by making proper use of renewable energy sources, using more energy efficient buildings and by making a switch to electric cars.

Its assumptions about carbon emissions have been widely accepted and according to Noble; The Centre for Alternative Land Use, the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, and even the IPCC assume it is true that biofuel production will effectively be carbon neutral as the crops absorb carbon as they grow.

However this assumption is incorrect, Noble writes. This can only be true if no fossil fuel energy is expended in growing  biomass, in producing the fertilizers, pesticides and other chemical inputs and growing biofuel crops does not involve destroying natural carbon sinks by cutting down forests and turning other natural ecosystems into agricultural land. This assumption also ignores the displacement of indigenous peoples and decimation of biodiversity that biofuel crop production can cause.

Several reports from the not-for-profit institute tell another story to biofuel production ‘Biofuels: Biodevastation, Hunger & False Carbon Credits’ and ‘Land Rush as Threats to Food Security Intensify’.

According to the institute, CAT’s ‘sequestration sink’ will actually empty a little more at each harvest, creating annual losses of CO2 to the atmosphere. CAT’s ‘biological fields’ are emphatically not ‘carbon neutral’ Noble states.

While the Welsh Assembly considers adopting Zero Carbon Britain as a blue print for Zero Carbon Wales, Noble speaks out against the report. Accordingly he wrote to CAT after its first Zero Carbon Britain report was released, and sent it to the authors, but got no acknowledgement.  Analysing the old report he exposes the  underlying assumption more clearly.

The old report says that there are 18m hectares of agricultural land in Britain, and proposes what many may agree to be necessary: a reduction of livestock numbers, an increase in arable and intensive horticultural land and an increase in woodland, at the expense of permanent pastures (6 m ha down to 1 m ha) and rough grazing (6 m ha down to 2 m ha).

However, the report also suggests that 4m ha of short and longer rotation woodland be burnt for energy and that a third of the arable rotation (Rape and
Miscanthus) should also be burnt.  That means the output of 40.5 per cent of the agricultural land of Britain is to be combusted. There is no suggestion as to what would replace the combusted nutrients and minerals lost to the land, though it mentions that ‘organic methods’ will increase carbon sequestration. Under the CAT agricultural regime, British agricultural land will move ‘inexorably towards desert and life in the soils will be annually reduced’, so less and less carbon is sequestered he concludes.