Chrysler is the latest big name car manufacturer to show its support for ethanol production by entering a memorandum of understanding with ZeaChem, Inc.

The alliance is meant to accelerate the development and market adoption of cellulosic ethanol with the partners hoping to: strengthen credibility among regulators and American consumers; move away from the “food for fuel” debate; and provide a leadership role in bringing cellulosic ethanol to the consumer market. They also hope to build awareness of the potential environmental advantages of high-yield, lower carbon cellulosic ethanol. 

According to Jim Imbler, the president and CEO of ZeaChem, the company’s process offers a 40 per cent higher yield in ethanol, and through strategic alliances it could fast track large scale production.

ZeaChem actually makes the most of a combined biochemical and thermochemical process to produce ethanol with an acetogen fermenting sugars from biomass to acetic acid. The acetogens have a number of advantages including the ability to breakdown products of biomass; and the capability to operate in harsh environments while producing no CO2 as a by-product. The acid can then be converted to an ester which is hydrogenated to make ethanol.

It is not the first alliance that ZeaChem has entered into. Earlier this year it signed a long-term agreement with GreenWood Tree Farm Fund to supply hybrid poplar woody biomass for its cellulosic biorefinary. Chrysler meanwhile, has produced around two million flexible fuel vehicles since 1998.

The city ofSan FranciscoinCaliforniais to benefit from 14 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles from Chrysler.

They will be introduced as part of a three-year evaluation programme with the aim being to assess how they work in real world conditions with reports being given to Chrysler on all driving and charging experiences.

It is just part of an on-going project into plug-in hybrid technology with Chrysler also deploying a test and demonstration fleet of 25 Chrysler PHEV minivans and 140 RAM 1500 PHEV pick-up trucks to 12 partners.

These will include local municipalities, state governments, universities and energy companies throughout theUnited States.

It doesn’t seem too long ago that Chrysler was one of several auto manufacturers on the rocks in the midst of the financial crisis. However, now the automaker has announced the repayment of $7.6billion in outstanding US and Canadian government loans after completing new refinancing transactions.

The original loans have been repaid more than six years ahead of schedule and include accrued interest and additional consideration. The company paid $5.9billion to the US Treasury and $1.7billion to Export Development Canada to retire the loans that dated back to June, 2009.

According to Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of Chrysler Group, the company made a commitment to repay US and Canadian taxpayers in full and it has now made good on that promise. He stated the loans gave it a second chance and paying them back marks another step in returning to being a global competitive force in the industry.

Chrysler’s new financing consists of a term loan totalling $3.0billion, debt securities of $3.2billion and a revolving credit facility of $1.3billion. It should save the company around $350million a year in interest expenses.

Chrysler will begin delivering its plug-in hybrid RAM pick-up trucks as part of a test truck fleet, later this month.

It will deliver the first 20 of 140 vehicles – 10 to Clark County, Nevada, and 10 to Yuma, Arizona. The pick-up project will be worth $97.4million with the US Department of Energy contributing $40million through Recovery Act funding.

The vehicle itself is a blended plug-in hybrid meaning it doesn’t run exclusively on all-electric power during its charge depletion period. It has an all-electric range of more than 20miles and meets AT-PZEV emission standards with a charge depleting fuel economy of more than 32mpg.

It is equipped with a 345hp, 5.7litre Hemi V8 petrol engine and a two-mode hybrid transmission.

Chrysler also developed a number of its own features for the plug-in hybrid, including: thermal management of the lithium-ion battery system; a powertrain control system to operate within the limits of the lithium-ion battery; a charging system capable of charging up to 7.5kW; an inverter system to support the power panel and vehicle-to-grid power flow; and systems for cold starts, cold drives and electric vehicle drive.

Part of the project will focus on increasing the functionality of charging. From September, Chrysler wants to add support for optimised charging with customer input; and in the same month it will also implement a smart grid interface. A year later, Chrysler will begin testing vehicle-to-grid with reverse power flow, smart grid communications and micro grid development.

As the 2011 Geneva Motor Show inches ever closer, the list of new arrivals continues to expand with plans now revealed for an all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee that promises to be more powerful and yet more fuel efficient than its predecessor.

The vehicle will come with an optional 3.0litre turbo diesel engine in Europe and other diesel markets built by VM Motori and developed with Fiat Powertrain. The engine is capable of producing 177kW at 4,000rpm, and torque of 550Nm – that’s 10 per cent more power and eight per cent more torque than the model it replaces.

Remarkably however, fuel economy is 28mpg on the combined cycle – that’s an improvement of 17 per cent compared to the prior diesel engine with CO2 emissions also reduced by 17 per cent to 218g/km.

Part of the reason for the achievement is a compressed, graphite iron, 60degree block with aluminium cylinder heads and a two-piece structural aluminium oil pan. The engine is compact and lightweight with weight at just 230kg.

To optimise combustion, the induction system includes swirl control fitted between the intake system and the combustion chamber that effectively provides an ideal air/fuel mixture at all levels of engine speed. Fuel delivery is also enhanced thanks to a 1,800bar common-rail fuel injection system with new MultiJet II technology guaranteeing a reduction in consumption and polluting emissions by approximately two per cent compared to a traditional injector.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee will be offered in Europe with Laredo and Limited trims in addition to the Overland version. The 3.0litre engine will be offered in European markets as a low output version.

A two-mode RAM Truck plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is being showcased by Chrysler at the Washington DC Auto Show.

The RAM plug-in hybrid project came about as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act DOE Vehicle Electrification Program that was launched last year; and now at the Advanced Automotive Battery Conference in Pasadena, Oliver Gross, an energy storage systems specialist in the High Voltage Energy Storage Solutions Group at Chrysler has provided an overview of its progress.

He suggests the primary goals are to model real-world life to determine how viable plug-in hybrid electric vehicles can be and the best way to deploy them. It will involve a 140 vehicle field trial to evaluate customer acceptance and battery performance across a range of cycles and temperatures and it is hoped that the program will amass about nine million miles of data including 1.4million miles in sub-freezing temperatures and 1.1million in temperatures above 32 degrees Celsius.

The vehicle itself is a blended plug-in hybrid so it doesn’t run exclusively all-electric during its charge depletion period.

According to Gross, the real challenge is that the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is expected to demonstrate durability that is comparable to non-electrified vehicles which brings attention to the AT-PZEV battery warranty requirements of 10 years, 150,000 miles. This translates to 15 years calendar life at 30 degrees Celsius and 5,000 charge depleting and 300,000 charge sustaining cycles. He says that to date no battery that meets performance and packaging requirements also meets the calendar and cycle life requirements.

The vehicles will be out in the field for around three years and collect data remotely to help determine the proper plug-in hybrid electric vehicle profiles of the future.

US carmaker Chrysler has been relatively quiet in terms of green car innovations, but it is starting to make up for lost time with several announcements about hybrid vehicles.

Next year it will add a hybrid version of the Chrysler 300 saloon car as well as adding a hybrid minivan in 2013. The minivans are expected to benefit from a nine-speed automatic transmission, while a new compact saloon to replace the Dodge Caliber will be the first with a fuel-saving gearbox.

In addition, Chrysler and the US Environmental Protection Agency are working together to determine whether they can adapt a hydraulic series hybrid system for application in large passenger cars and light duty vehicles.

The hydraulic hybrid system is currently used in industrial applications and the technology has shown substantial increases in fuel economy compared to traditional powertrains. The system contains two key components: high pressure hydraulic fluid vessels and hydraulic drive pump/motors.

It is hoped that by working together that Chrysler and the US Environmental Protection Agency can produce a technology sensitive to the needs of drivers for smooth and quiet operation.

Chrysler is also expected to introduce 150 Ram 1500 trucks with a plug-in hybrid electric system in a project with the US Department of Transportation.

Fiat’s influence over the Chrysler Group is expected to expand after it increased its ownership interest from 20 per cent to 25 per cent.

The increase is based on Chrysler achieving the first of three performance-related milestones. It was outlined in the operating agreement established on June 10, 2009, that Chrysler had issued an irrevocable commitment letter to the US Treasury stating it had received the appropriate governmental approvals and would begin commercial production of its Fully Integrated Robotized Engine (FIRE) at its Dundee, Michigan, facility.

The first application of the FIRE Engine will be in the new Fiat 500.

Under the terms of the agreement, Fiat’s ownership interest has increased. UAW VEBA still holds the largest share at 63.5 per cent; with Fiat at 25 per cent; the US Treasury at 9.2 per cent; and the Canadian Governments at 2.3 per cent.

Fiat could further increase its share to 35 per cent in five per cent increments with two additional milestones – the first relating to revenue and sales outside the NAFTA region, and the second to commercial production in the US of a 40mpg petrol vehicle based on Fiat platform technology.

A report by Bloomberg suggests that Fiat executives are considering introducing natural gas vehicles in the USA.

Chief executive officer of Fiat and Chrysler Group LLC Sergio Marchionne has reportedly stated that natural gas engines are a better way to cut emissions because they are cheaper than competing technologies. He also believes that electric cars present too many obstacles such as the recharge time for batteries.

Guiliano Noci, a professor at the MIP management school of Milan’s Polytechnic University, commented that Fiat will use its leadership in natural gas in a region with huge reserves and that it is a “mandatory strategy” as Fiat is a leader in the natural gas market but is far behind in the electric vehicle sector.

It may not be the greenest engine around, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction – Chrysler has now provided additional details of its Pentastar V-6 engine that is designed to replace seven different V-6 engines over the next three years.

The engine will be designed for specific applications with varying horsepower and torque, but Chrysler estimates that it will provide an average fuel efficiency improvement of around seven per cent across the range.

It will be used in front-, rear- and all-wheel drive models. Part of the reason it is so efficient is because of its simplified structure with major components reduced from 189 parts to 32. Cost savings are also realised thanks to purchasing efficiencies and a reduction in limited, high piece cost parts. Some parts will completely disappear as they are cast directly into the cylinder head.

The engine is constructed with a high-pressure, die-cast aluminium block that is fitted with cast-iron bore liners and aluminium cylinder heads. A new oil system is also used with lubrication of the engine occurring through a displacement pump that adjusts the flow rate and pressure to minimise the energy used by the pump.