British Company Romag Tests Solar-Powered Electric Car Parking Bay

Glass and plastics specialist Romag Holdings has developed a new solar-powered canopy that could offer a recharging bay for electric cars in open-air car parks.

The PowerPark system consists of a panel of Romag’s PowerGlaz photovoltaic modules standing over and above a car parking bay.

The PV panels generate electricity to charge electric vehicles parking underneath, or to feed into the national grid or a building’s power supply when it is not being used to charge up an electric vehicle.

Romag Holidings has already secured a contract with regional development agency One NorthEast to build two prototypes at its own site in County Durham and at Tegrel Engineering in Blaydon on Tyne, where the steel structure used in the product is made.

The company will be targeting owners of car parks including airports, stations, supermarkets, shopping centres, offices and public buildings to take up the product, pointing to government ambitions to encourage the use of electric vehicles nationwide.

Romag, which already produces PowerGlaz panels and building-integrated PV systems at its 30MW capacity production facility in Consett, says the new PowerPark canopy systems will be “very competitive” in price when launched.

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MIT Team Builds Solar Car for World Solar Challenge (Video)

Calling any vehicle Eleanor is a bit cheeky, considering that it evokes the image of brawny Ford Mustangs made famous in the movie “Gone in 60 Seconds.” In this case, it may even be ironic, since the car the MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team is referring to is solar-powered, rides on three wheels, and tops out at 90 mph.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s latest competitor in the upcoming 10th World Solar Challenge couldn’t be more different than its namesake. Its Eleanor is low slung, highly aerodynamic, and covered by 6 square meters of silicon solar cells that generate 1,200 watts of electricity. On board the car is a 6kWh lithium ion battery pack that stores enough power to travel from New York to Boston without the sun, or about 250 miles at around 55 mph.

But on a sunny day, the solar car can run nonstop at a cruising speed of 55 mph, and calculations show that it can reach 90 mph.

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Toyota Prius Touring Tops Consumer Reports Best New-Car Value List

Consumer Reports names the Toyota Prius Touring as the best overall value among 300 cars according to the 2009 Annual Auto Issue.

The Prius Touring provides the best overall value because of its comparatively low owner-cost estimate of $26,250 over five years — and a relatively high road-test score of 80 points out of 100. The Prius doesn’t have the least expensive sticker price in its class, but its excellent fuel economy of 42 mpg overall and solid resale value help give it a low owner-cost.

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$25 Billion to Promote Electric Cars Is Untouched

WASHINGTON - The future of the American auto industry is getting off to a slow start.

The Energy Department has $25 billion to make loans to hasten the arrival of the next generation of automotive technology - electric-powered cars. But no money has been allocated so far, even though the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan program, established in 2007, has received applications from 75 companies, including start-ups as well as the three Detroit automakers.

With General Motors and Chrysler making repeat visits to Washington to ask for bailout money to stave off insolvency, some members of Congress are starting to ask why the Energy Department money is not flowing yet. The loans also are intended to help fulfill President Obama’s campaign promise of putting one million electric cars on American roads by 2015.

“Politicians are breaking down the door asking why the money isn’t being sent out,” said Michael Carr, counsel to the Senate Energy Committee, which oversees the Energy Department. Read more

A Brief History of the Electric Car

It sometimes works for the fashion industry - bring back an old fashion, make it new and a fad is born. This time, though, it’s the automotive industry, hoping for the kind of lifestyle change that can bring car sales back from the dead. All three major U.S. auto companies have been working on plans for electric cars, and debuted some prototypes at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week. Ford announced that it hopes to have an all-electric vehicle, which would be able run for 100 miles on a single charge, on sale by 2011. Chastened by their collapsing sales and sustained by infusions of bailout cash, GM, Chrysler and Ford need to come up with ways to revolutionize car design, clean up the environment and wean the industry off foreign oil. The concept of all-electric cars has faced some resistance, but the big three seem readier than ever for change - and the idea, it turns out, isn’t as radical as one might think.

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A123Systems Announces Plan to Build U.S.-based Lithium Ion Battery Mass Production Facilities

Watertown, MA - A123Systems today announced it has submitted an application under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program to qualify for $1.84 billion in direct loans to support the construction of new world-class lithium ion battery manufacturing facilities in the United States, with the first construction location in southeast Michigan.

If A123’s application is approved, this program would enable the company to dramatically expand production capacity in the United States, with full production volumes designed to supply battery systems for five million hybrid vehicles or half a million plug-in electric vehicles per year by 2013.

“We’re entering an exciting new phase for the automotive industry where we increase the electrification of vehicles, reducing consumption of gasoline through advanced batteries. This new facility would greatly accelerate this change and help ensure that the American economy replaces its dependence on foreign oil with reliance on advanced, homegrown batteries,” said David Vieau, A123Systems President and Chief Executive Officer.

At full operation, A123 expects the combined plants would occupy as much as 7 million square feet and create over 14,000 jobs.  These plants would produce battery cells and systems to meet the needs of A123’s broad automotive customer portfolio, which currently includes over seven vehicle manufacturers and 19 vehicle models ranging from HEVs (hybrid electric vehicles) to EVs (electric vehicles).

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Advanced Li-ion Battery Maker Applies for $480 Million in Federal Loan Funds to Accelerate Output for Next-Generation Auto Industry

Low-Interest Funds Would Help Grow Domestic Production of Crucial Systems for Plug-In Vehicles, Bolster U.S. Competitiveness

NEW YORK, Jan 02, 2009 — Advanced lithium-ion battery manufacturer Ener1, Inc. has applied for $480 million in low-interest loans under a new federal program to spur development of the next generation of U.S. fuel-efficient vehicles.

“We are very pleased to be able to participate in an initiative that will help strengthen U.S. energy security, radically reduce greenhouse gases, and sharpen the competitive edge of American producers of fuel-efficient vehicles,” said Ener1 Chairman and CEO Charles Gassenheimer. “A special federal lending program to incentivize next-generation auto and components manufacturers is exactly what is needed at this juncture to help regain market share for the U.S. in this crucial industry.”

EnerDel, Ener1’s lithium-ion battery subsidiary, applied for the funds under the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Incentive Program (ATVMIP), which is administered by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The $25 billion program is designed to enable U.S. auto companies and their suppliers to build or retool manufacturing facilities in order to improve the overall corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) of the American automotive industry.

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Tesla Motors Hands Keys To 100th Roadster Owner

Tesla Motors honored Menlo Park businessman Sam Perry, known nationally for being the man Oprah Winfrey clung to during President-elect Barack Obama’s victory speech, as the company’s 100th Roadster owner.

At a December news conference at the company’s Menlo Park store, Tesla Motors CEO and chairman Elon Musk handed Perry the keys to a red 2008 Roadster.

“You can have something that’s sexy and fast and fun, and that’s also environmentally responsible,” Musk said of the sports car. The Roadster, launched in early 2008, costs between $2.50 and $5.50 to recharge and can run for 244 miles with a full charge, company spokeswoman Rachel Konrad said.

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Solar Hybrids Soak Up the Sun

 

Solar pioneer Greg Johanson set a world record for the fastest speed in a sun-powered car way back in 1986. That car, Sunrunner, has since been retired and its solar array relegated to some California rooftop, but Johanson is still building cars fueled by the sun. Now you can too.

Johanson and the guys at Solar Electrical Vehicles will slap a solar panel on just about anything, and they’ve developed a DIY kit for the Toyota Prius that he says provides up to 20 miles of range and boosts fuel economy up to 29 percent. The company is testing its first solar energy system exclusively for hybrids in four “PV Prius” prototypes and a “PV Highlander.”

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Hawaii Partners with Better Place for Electric Cars

Hawaii has decided to partner with Better Place to bring car battery exchange stations for electric vehicles to the islands, Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle announced Tuesday.

Better Place stations, similar in concept to gas stations, offer drivers with electric vehicles an automated system that swaps out exhausted lithium ion car batteries for fully-charged ones. The swapping system is intended to be convenient for both drivers and local electric companies, since Better Place can recharge the exhausted batteries with excess electricity generated from renewable sources during off-peak electricity hours.

Lingle said the project is an example of Hawaii’s efforts to gain independence from foreign oil, and to stimulate its economy through investment in energy technology.

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