The Geneva Motor Show may have closed its doors, but there was still time for another series of exciting range extended electric car concepts to be revealed.

This time it was the turn of Malaysian car manufacturer Proton, which unveiled the five-door, four-seat hatchback EMAS; a three-door, five-seat hatchback EMAS Country for country driving; and a three-door, 3+1 seat EMAS3 for city driving.

Proton EMAS drive system elements.

As it bids to expand its global footprint, Proton is focusing on eco-friendly vehicles with EMAS standing for Eco Mobility Advance Solution, while also meaning “gold” in the Malay language. The EMAS vehicles are the result of collaboration between Proton, its subsidiary Lotus, and Italian design house Italdesign Giugiaro. 

The drivetrain for the vehicles has been developed by Lotus Engineering and includes the Lotus Range Extender three-cylinder, 1.2litre internal combustion engine. It can develop 38kW at 3,500rpm and can run on petrol, natural gas, ethanol or methanol. The front transverse internal combustion engine is coupled with a generator that recharges the 11.47kWh lithium-ion battery pack.

Five-door hatchback Proton EMAS.

The engine boasts some impressive performance statistics. Its top speed is 106mph and it can accelerate from 0-62mph in 14 seconds. Battery range in the hybrid configuration is 31miles.  

Proton is now hoping that the EMAS3 can be fitted with a larger battery pack so that a full electric version can be made available.

It’s a double header for this year’s Green Grand Prix, which will offer not only a road rally but also a fuel economy competition for all classes of vehicles.

Drivers of alternative fuelled cars, including hybrids and fuel-efficient petrol cars, can participate in the sixth annual event held at Watkins Green, New York. The Green Grand Prix is based at the International Motor Racing Research Centre, which will also play host to a number of additional activities including music, food and educational displays.

A 1965 Porsche 356SC that runs on bio-diesel and will compete in the Green Grand Prix.

Anyone can participate in the road events with biodiesel, flex-fuel, electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell cars expected to be part of the line-up alongside vehicles powered by LP, compressed natural gas and vegetable oil.

Known as the Doris Bovee Memorial Road Rally, it is the only Sports Car Club of America road rally of its kind in the US and covers more than 60miles of roadways in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. When rally drivers and navigators return to the centre, the Fuel Economy Run gives drivers a chance to set fuel economy records around the 80mile perimeter of Seneca Lake.

The Green Grand Prix takes place on May 8.

Researchers at San Francisco State University and Sandia National Laboratory believe they have uncovered solutions to some of the problems of low temperature combustion.

They have found that increased fuel volatility could play a vital role in enabling engines to employ early direct injection, low temperature combustion operating modes. Low temperature combustion includes a number of approaches aimed at reducing emissions such as nitrogen oxides.

The early direct injection strategy works by producing a near-homogenous charge if injection occurs early in the compression stroke and this enables vaporisation and in-cylinder premixing prior to combustion near top-dead centre. According to the paper, this achieves low temperature combustion by employing pre-mixed, fuel-lean conditions and high EGR levels.

Other work has shown a strong connection between liquid fuel impingement and increased fuel consumption and emissions. So the researchers investigated the addition of high volatility fuel components to reduce or eliminate liquid fuel impingement and fuel-film accumulation. They tested five blends of conventional diesel fuel and a high volatility fuel mixture with the results of the study showing that as the injection timing is advanced during low temperature combustion, liquid-fuel films on in-cylinder surfaces are likely to form. This can therefore lead to pool fires and higher smoke as well as lower fuel conversion efficiencies and emissions.

However, increasing high volatility fuel content reduced or eliminated the liquid-fuel films and pool fires and their effects on efficiency and emissions. A high volatility content of 78 per cent even reduced smoke emissions to near zero levels.

As such, researchers have described the use of higher volatility blendstocks and fuels as a potentially important means in eliminating the problems from fuel film formation.

Two Mercedes-Benz series hybrid Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid buses are being put through their paces as part of a field test led by the Hamburger Hochbahn Transit Company.

The 18-metre hybrid buses are powered in part by four electric motors that are integrated into the wheel hubs on the centre and rear axles, and have a total output of 320kW. The vehicle also uses a combustion engine but it has only 4.8litres displacement compared to the standard 12 and with an output of 160kW it is around a third lower than the normal. It is also comparatively lightweight at around 450kg instead of 1,000kg.

The buses can run solely on electric power for stretches without making use of the diesel engine and they are the first vehicles to be sold and used within the framework of a customer field test in Germany.

It is expected that Mercedes Benz parent-company Daimler will test around 30 Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid buses in selected regions later this year to demonstrate their suitability for everyday use.

The latest Ford F-Series Super Duty trucks look to be the greenest versions of the vehicles yet thanks to new diesel and petrol engine powertrains.

Now before you say that being the greenest truck is hardly worthy of an environmental stamp of approval, consider the strides that have been taken. The 6.7litre Power Stroke V-8 Turbocharged diesel engine, for example, averages an 18 per cent improvement in fuel economy for pick-up models and up to 25 per cent improvement for chassis cabs compared to 2010 models. Indeed trucks equipped with the basic 6.2litre V-8 petrol engine average a 15 per cent improvement in fuel economy when compared to the 2010 models. 

There’s no compromise with power to achieve these improvements, however. The 6.7litre Power Stroke V-8 produces a best in class 997Nm of torque at 1,600rpm; while the new 6.2litre V-8 also boasts best in class numbers at 549Nm at 4,500rpm. Indeed the new diesel engine is also B20 biodiesel compatible, while the petrol engine is E85 compatible.

According to Al Bruck, the transmission engineering manager, the new transmission is a clean-sheet design that has been developed to handle increased torque and higher rotational speeds. It can deliver power to the wheels seamlessly and efficiently.

Among the enhancements that have been made to the transmission are an optimised shift and converter lock-up schedule; gearing and double-overdrive; optimised pumping pressure; optimised drainback to reduce spin losses; and a warmer operating temperature.

French car manufacturer Renault has joined forces with a host of companies to establish an e-mobility project in the Rhine-Ruhr region.

The project’s aim is to integrate electric mobility into everyday traffic along the A40 motorway. Charging infrastructure will be built in the towns of Mulheim, Essen and Dortmund by mid-2011 and data will be collected to enable the development of marketable products, including GPS devices, with a clear charging station overview.

The vehicle fleet includes 40 Renault pre-production electric vehicles and 110 converted electric cars, based on the Fiat 500 and Karabag 500E that RWE will provide as lease vehicles.

The Renault models expected to be incorporated into the project include the Kangoo Express zero emission utility vehicle and the Fluence zero emission mid-range family saloon car. Both of the vehicles are expected to be launched in Europe in 2011 and are capable of a range of 160km with both standard and quick charging available. As an added bonus, Fluence batteries can also be exchanged using the quick-drop system.

The project will receive support from the German Ministry for Traffic, Construction and Urban Development to the tune of around €7million. Participants in the scheme include RWE Effizienz GmbH; Renault Deutschland AG; automotive engineering research company Forschungsgesellschaft Kraftfahrwesen mbH Aachen (fka); and the Institut für Hochspannungstechnik (High-Voltage Engineering Institute) of RWTH Aachen University.

A range extended electric conversion of the Ford F-150 has been revealed as part of the 2010 National Truck Equipment Association Work Truck Show and Green Truck Summit.

The vehicle, developed by Michigan-based electric powertrain company ALTe LLC includes a Ford 2.0litre, four-cylinder normally aspirated petrol engine that powers an 82kW Remy DC generator. It includes two Remy DC drive motors that run at 320V and deliver 400Nm maximum torque.

The battery pack has been assembled into a saddlebag configuration with a 52mile all-electric range. Fuel economy in charge sustaining mode is 32mpg and the entire range extended electric system adds around 200lbs to the vehicle’s net weight. 

According to ALTe CEO John Thomas, the company is in discussions with several car manufacturers at the chairman and CEO level and is also in discussions with a major retail chain that is interested in becoming a nationwide centre partner.

Thomas hopes that his company might be the one that offers Freightliners, manufacturers and their customers the range-extended solution to complement the existing battery electric vehicles in the field.

In an effort to slash energy use and reduce feedstock consumption, work has started on an EU-funded project to improve the performance of the continent’s biorefinaries.

Known as EUROBIOREF (European multi-level integrated biorefinary design for sustainable biomass processing) it is a four-year project with a total budget of €37billion, of which a substantial amount will come from the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme.

Its aim is to overcome fragmentation in the sector through the promotion of networking, co-operation and co-ordination. It has put together a project consortium to cover the whole biomass chain and this will include companies in the biochemical industry, European organisations and researchers.

In addition, partners will develop a biorefinary concept for a wide range of feedstocks and different processes including chemical, biochemical and thermochemical. This will result in the production of a variety of products that range from polymers to high energy aviation fuels and chemicals.

It is hoped that by improving the efficiency of the reaction processes, the systems can become more flexible and reduce production time and logistics. This in turn could help improve cost efficiency by as much as 30 per cent. Furthermore, they hope to reduce the amount of energy used by around 30 per cent and cut feedstock consumption by 10 per cent. The plants should also produce zero waste.

Project partners are based in 14 countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Madagascar, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

The Mitsubishi i-MiEV has continued its European adventure after the Mitsubishi Motors Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding with MM Automobile Schweiz AG and Alpiq Holding AG, the country’s largest electricity provider, in Switzerland.

The three parties will work together to confirm the viability of electric vehicles and quick charger units and promote the new generation i-MiEV in the country.

Alpiq sees the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and electric mobility as an innovative solution to develop individual means of transport without CO2 emissions.

The i-MiEV has already made its way to the country as part of the Geneva International Motor Show. It is being made available for test drives within the show’s Green Pavilion. The show runs until March 14.

The green movement in the US is not just limited to the West coast – now New York is getting in on the act with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) awarding $8million to help develop or commercialise 19 advanced energy storage projects.

The awards will be made to companies and universities across the state and could benefit transportation as well as renewable energy technologies and utility Smart Grid applications.

Let’s take a look at some of the projects set to benefit:

• General Electric – Has been awarded $2,500,000 to develop its sodium metal halide batteries for use in a new generation of cleaner locomotives and stationary applications.

• Ultralife Corporation – Picks up $2,400,000 for integrating battery and ultra-capacitors on a common power circuit that serves two renewable energy sources to increase renewable energy contributions to the grid.
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – $200,000 for next-generation lithium-ion rechargeable batteries.
• Cerion Enterprises – With $200,000 it will develop innovative materials for next generation lithium-ion batteries.
• Ioxus - $600,000 will go towards three projects to improve ultracapacitor performance.
• City University of New York – Picks up $349,597 towards two projects – one to develop a nickel-zinc battery that uses low cost materials; and the other to improve the performance of ultra-capacitors.
• Brookhaven National Laboratory – $552,890 towards three projects to develop improved batteries for stationary grid scale energy storage applications.
• SUNY Binghamton – Has been awarded $200,000 for lithium-air storage systems for vehicle or grid systems.
• College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering of the University at Albany – Funding worth $200,000 to produce electrolytes that improve the performance of ultra-capacitors.
• Hollingsworth & Vose Co – $200,000 for an advanced separator for valve-regulated lead-acid batteries.
• Cornell University – Has been awarded $200,000 for non-flammable battery electrolytes.
• General Motors – $196,090 for materials for improved lithium-ion battery electrodes for automotive applications.
• Impact Technologies – With $99,766 awarded it will develop a method to increase the lifetime of batteries by assessing battery health.
• Rochester Institute of Technology – With $195,869 it will look into methods to recycle and reuse lithium-ion batteries.