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The BP oil spill with the release of an estimated five million barrels of crude oil is by far larger than any past spill. This will provide researchers with a unique worst case spill scenario to study the health impacts of an oil spill. [...]
Come experience the Aptera 2e at Cantine Veteran’s Memorial Complex Saturday, October 2nd.
[...]
France (AFP) – US auto giant Ford Motor said it was on track to deliver five electric cars in Europe over the next five years but warned the technology needed to improve dramatically for the market to expand.
[...]
HONOLULU, Sep 30, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Better Place announced today the start of its initial deployment of EV infrastructure in Hawaii, with the launch of a project to incorporate its electric-vehicle infrastructure in Honolulu, in partnership with Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts’ Sheraton Waikiki Resort and Hawaiian Electric Company. The project will start with a small number of charge spots in Waikiki and around Oahu and includes seven electric vehicles. Better Place will manage the charging of the vehicles via a network operations center located in Palo Alto, California.
[...]
Eugene (KMTR) – The $700,000 in federal stimulus money will put charging stations along I-5 from Eugene to the California border. It’s the final stretch of interstate between Canada and California. The eight fast charging stations for electrical cars will be built near exits that have restaurants or convenience stores, because of charging time. Exit 174, Cottage Grove, is a possible location, along with Exit 120, Roseburg. Lithia Nissan of Eugene says they have 400 drivers, considering buying the Leaf electric car. Jeff Shutt at Lithia says once I-5 becomes a charged highway, business might speed up.
“They’ll be a little bit more comfort to knowing that it’s there, but I think they would much rather have it here in Eugene,” said Shutt. “But yes I think there is going to be some comfort know that they will go right to Cottage Grove, to be able to get it charged and still be able to do the things they need to do.”
Nissan plans to bring about 940 of its Leaf electric cars into the state. Kirk Gebb is at the top of the list to get his Leaf car. But says he won’t need to use the Cottage Grove service station. He’ll have his very own electric charging station installed in his garage.
[...]
Korea Times. Adding another major automaker to its customer list, LG Chem announced that it will supply Li-ion batteries to Renault for EVs. Song Choong-sup, an LG spokesperson, said the deal would be the largest that LG Chem has signed with automakers so far, considering Renault’s expected production volumes.
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Toshiba Corp announced Sept 29, 2010, that it has developed a prismatic cell with a capacity of 60Ah as a lithium-ion (Li-ion) rechargeable battery targeted at photovoltaic systems and electric vehicles.
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Southern California Edison (SCE) places 20 unit order for innovative Ford Transit Connect Electric small commercial van [...]
Volvo Cars confirmed that it will introduce a series-produced plug-in hybrid diesel as early as 2012. Volvo had first suggested the 2012 date for a diesel PHEV in September 2009. (Earlier post.) [...]
Looks Pretty Sweet!
Lance Armstrong, uber-cyclist, crime fighter, and electric car early-adopter, has just tweeted that his new Nissan LEAF electric car has arrived. He sent a pic (see below for a bigger version), and it looks good. A nice change from the blue paint that almost all LEAFs have had so far.
[...]
What’s small, compact, able to be charged in six hours and has a top speed of the 87mph? Why it’s the Kia Pop, the latest concept car from Kia that is not only fully-electric but, despite its small size, has a range of 100 miles. As smart cars go, it’s a striking design with its curvaceous looks and chrome finish resembling something out of Minority Report, however it also has the environmental credentials to go with its looks. Powered by compact lithium polymer gel batteries, the POP only takes 6 hours to charge and can then do 160km (100 miles) in a single journey. [...]
Since launching the Ford Escape Hybrid in 2004, Ford has confined sales of its hybrid-electric vehicles to North America. But that’s about to change.
[...]
Chevrolet says it has hand-picked 15 people to drive its Volt electric car in a three month test program just before the vehicle goes on sale late this year. Among the group are celebrity scientist Bill Nye (the “Science Guy”) and Kris Trexler, a film and video editor who leased one of General Motors’ pioneering EV1 electric cars more than a decade ago.
[...]
Carlos Ghosn, chief executive officer of Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co., talks about the demand outlook for the Leaf electric car.
[...]
Oregon has won $700,000 in federal stimulus dollars to install up to eight fast-charging stations for electric cars along Interstate 5 from Eugene to the California border.
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For Immediate Release: September 21, 2010
Contact: Clinton Global Initiative Press Office,
press@clintonglobal initiative. org [...]
— 11 founding members announce ‘EV20’ alliance to scale up plug-in electric vehicles (EVs)
— Group aims for 20% share of global vehicle sales to be electric by 2020
— Deutsche Bank, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Smith Electric Vehicles and TNT join The Climate Group to
be part of the alliance
New York, 20 September 2010 – Today, a group met to discuss their influence over the future of the electric
vehicle (EV) market. The global alliance consisting of businesses and government leaders and led by the
international NGO, The Climate Group, set an ambitious target to put one million additional EVs on the road
by 2015, on top of EVs that automakers are already planning to bring to market.
Businesses joining the alliance included global fleet owner TNT, auto manufacturers PSA Peugeot Citroën
and Smith Electric Vehicles, battery manufacturer Johnson Controls, Better Place and Deutsche Bank. The
state governments of Basque Country, New York State, Quebec, South Australia and Victoria also joined the
group.
Chaired by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, the EV20 alliance was formally announced at the Opening
Ceremony of Climate Week NYC (www.climateweeknyc.org). “The rapid growth of an e-car market will cut
city pollution and global greenhouse gas emissions helping to conserve our climate and our energy
resources,” said the Prince. “The development of EV fleets could also help to shift the way we use and store
energy.”
EV20 members agreed to work together over the next three years to pursue targets that they believe will
change the game on the EV market. The business and government partners aim to achieve this through
brokering international fleet procurement alliances, developing national, state and municipal policy
frameworks, and financing solutions.
“EV20 aims to connect the leaders in the field, speed up the learning process and pool resources. We’re
delighted that these influential organizations have joined us in this effort. Electric vehicles are cleaner and
more efficient, even based on today’s energy sources,” said Jim Walker, Co-Founder and Director of The
Climate Group. “Governments, banks and businesses around the world are grappling with the same
challenge: how to harness the potential of plug-in vehicles for their citizens, workers and investors.”
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the US government recently invested $2.4 billion to
develop next-generation batteries and electric drive components. This could lead to tens of thousands of US
manufacturing jobs and half a million batteries a year by late 2014. Later this year, the Nissan Leaf and
Chevy Volt will reach US showrooms.
The Climate Group’s EV20 meeting in New York City is the latest in a series of meetings to build an
international ‘coalition of the willing’ to rapidly advance the commercial deployment of EVs around the world.
There will be further meetings at the UN climate talks in Cancun (Mexico) later this year. The alliance is
made possible with support from Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, Dutch Postcode Lottery and the
HSBC Climate Partnership.
Strict Embargo: 15:00 EST, Monday 20 September 2010
PRESS RELEASE
Peter Bakker, CEO of TNT says: “TNT is proud to be a partner of The Climate Group as we believe electric
vehicles are at the brink of revolutionising the transport sector. There is a perfect fit for electric vehicles in our
pick up and delivery fleet with relatively short distances driven and a high number of stops. On top of that,
electric vehicles can address the increasing problem of inner city pollution. Now that the technology of electric
vehicles has made a leap forward, we see the vehicles playing a prominent role in our emission reduction
strategy, Planet Me.”
Jason Wolf, Vice President, North America, Better Place says: “While Better Place believes the transition
to EVs is inevitable, the right policies and key players working together can measurably accelerate the global
market and the transformative shift that is already underway. We look forward to joining the other private- and
public-sector collaborators, stepping on the low-carbon pedal to scale EV deployment worldwide, and
achieving the alliance’s targets as rapidly as possible.”
Mary Ann Wright, Vice President Technology and Innovation, Johnson Controls Power Solutions
says: “As a leading supplier of li-ion automotive batteries, Johnson Controls is proud to be manufacturing
batteries for today’s fuel-efficient hybrid and electric vehicles. We have made good progress in the market.
Through our Johnson Controls-Saft joint venture, we are expanding our manufacturing facility in France and
we are launching our new facility in Michigan. However, we now run the risk of too much capacity. It is more
critical than ever to collaborate together as we are through The Climate Group’s EV20, to create demand for
these vehicles by electrifying our fleets, maintaining tax incentives, and investing in research and
development.”
Ayoul Grouvel, Director of Electric Vehicles at PSA Peugeot Citroën S.A. says: “By the end of the year
PSA will be the first European manufacturer to offer a full range of electric vehicles, delivered under our
Peugeot and Citroën brands. Joining The Climate Group and the EV20 initiative is a logical step for PSA and
builds on our reputation for environmental leadership. By uniting different stakeholders EV20 will help electric
vehicles to get off the ground and gain market share in the world’s automotive markets.”
Bryan Hansel, CEO, Smith Electric Vehicles says: “Today’s EV20 launch represents an important
commitment from policy and business leaders to realize a cleaner and more cost-effective future. At Smith
we enthusiastically share the EV20’s goal of promoting the use of electric vehicles globally. The commercial
adoption of all-electric trucks is real and our customers are seeing an immediate ROI, such as reducing fuel
and lowering maintenance costs as well as leaving a smaller carbon footprint. Not only is this good for planet,
but electric technology is a viable, cost-effective alternative to diesel. It’s good for business.”
Pete Grannis, Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, of New York State
says: “Electric vehicles are an essential part of a comprehensive strategy to reduce carbon emissions
needed to address the looming crisis of climate change. New York is committed to working with other states
and provinces to implement the strategies needed to accelerate the deployment of electric vehicles.”
Premier Mike Rann of South Australia says: “We are working to re-think the way the world travels by road
and believe that with progressive policy decisions and supportive mechanisms it will be possible to speed a
global transition.”
/cont…
Strict Embargo: 15:00 EST, Monday 20 September 2010
PRESS RELEASE
Minister Bernabé Unda, Minister for Industry, Innovation, Trade and Tourism of Spain’s Basque
Country says: “The Basque Government has defined a strategy to introduce the electric vehicle in the
Basque Country, as a means to improve energy efficiency in transport and promote new business
opportunities in the Basque industrial fabric.”
Minister Pierre Arcand, Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks, Quebec says:
‘’Leaders in government and business need to work together to promote the use of electric vehicles. A forum
like the EV20 helps foster international cooperation so we can all reap the economic and environmental
benefits of electric transportation.”
Tim Pallas, Victorian Minister for Roads and Ports says, “Victoria is supporting a transformation in the
way we travel by working with the EV20 to set the stage for fast EV roll out through our all-ecompassing trial
that models a complete EV market from vehicle choice, recharge infrastructure type and location, impacts on
electricity generation and distribution and fleet operations.”
Boudewijn Poelmann, Co-Founder and Chairman, Dutch Postcode Lottery says: “The Climate Group
aims at creating a low carbon economy and bringing all relevant EV-players together makes this happen –
they are all winners in this clean way of doing business. This kind of innovation creates the breakthrough we
need and we are of course proud to be a partner in this.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
For further information and to arrange interviews with EV20 members, please contact:
Sasha Tenenbaum |The Climate Group | +1 917 435 6671 | stenenbaum@theclimategroup.org
Isabelle Peters | Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation | +33 (678) 63 5168 | ipeters@fpa2.mc
Alain Olivier Québec Govt Office in New York | +1 (917) 696-2361 | Alain.Olivier@mri.gouv.qc.ca
EV20 launch event photos are hosted at www.flickr.com/photos/theclimategroup/sets
About the EV20 alliance:
The Climate Group has convened a ground-breaking global initiative to speed the global deployment of
electric vehicles. Chaired by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, the EV20 will bring a core group of leading
cities, states and nations, auto manufacturers, fleet owners, financiers and electric vehicle value chain
players to focus on activities in the next three years to speed up market transformation by 2020. The Climate
Group announced that it would establish a “EV20 Working Group” at its Climate Leaders’ Summit (COP15)
in Copenhagen in December 2009 ahead of a formal launch in 2010. The EV20 initiative will focus on
sharing best practice in policy and in finance, and EV fleet procurement.
Current EV20 membership:
The first round of members for the formal initiative launched today include Better Place, Deutsche Bank,
Johnson Controls, Inc., PSA Peugeot Citroën, Smith Electric Vehicles and TNT, and the state governments
of Basque Country, New York State, Quebec, South Australia and Victoria . The EV20 Alliance, chaired by
HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, grew out of the EV20 Working Group formed at COP15 last year.
Strict Embargo: 15:00 EST, Monday 20 September 2010
PRESS RELEASE
Why do we need EVs?
Our transport system connects people to places and businesses to markets. It is fundamental to economic
strength and quality of life. Over the long run it must become increasingly sustainable. In most developed
countries, road transport is responsible for about a quarter of CO2 emissions and cars are responsible for the
vast majority of this.
The use of electricity as a fuel can help alleviate local air quality problems and noise pollution. In Europe, an
EV can generate 55 to 60% less CO2 emissions than a car with an internal combustion engine on the current
grid mix [Source: The Comeback of the Electric Car?: How Real, How Soon, and What Must Happen Next.
Boston Consulting Group, 2009] and this will improve as the electricity generating sector moves to low
carbon energy sources. Energy consumption, energy security and CO2 emissions are becoming the drivers
of change for the transport sector, particularly given the forecasted growth in vehicle numbers. There are
currently some 1 billion vehicles in the world, and many consider that this number could reach 2 billion by
2020.
About The Climate Group (www.theclimategroup.org):
The Climate Group is an independent, not-for-profit organization working internationally with government and
business leaders to advance smart policies and technologies to cut global emissions and unlock a clean
industrial revolution. Its global coalition of companies, states, regions and cities around the world recognize
the economic and environmental imperatives of taking decisive action now. The Climate Group was founded
in 2004 and has operations in Australia, China, Europe, India and North America.
About Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation (www.fpa2.com):
The Foundation was created by H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince of Monaco in June 2006 and is dedicated to the
protection of the environment and the promotion of sustainable development on a global scale. The
Foundation’s efforts focus on three main areas: Climate Change and renewable energies, Biodiversity,
Water and desertification. The Foundation gives its support to projects in three main geographical zones: the
Mediterranean Basin, the Polar Regions, and the least developed countries. The Prince Albert II of Monaco
Foundation supports initiatives by public and private organizations and companies, in the fields of research
and studies, technological innovation and socially aware practices. The Foundation is committed to raising
the awareness of the population and States by implementing communication action plans capable of
generating the maximum mobilization. In order to stimulate and develop innovation, the Foundation supports
scientific and technical monitoring at an international level.
About Climate Week NYC (www.climateweeknyc.org):
In 2009, The Climate Group launched Climate Week NYC, an annual global forum to mobilize an
international public-private response to climate change. This year, Climate Week NYC 2010 represents a
series of high-profile events in New York City exploring how greater dialogue between governments and
business on how low-carbon policies, game-changing technologies and public and private finance can help:
• Halve global emissions by 2050
• Increase energy security
• Unlock a clean industrial revolution that will secure jobs and economic growth around the world
• Secure clean energy acces for all
This year’s partners and sponsors include the United Nations Foundation, Swiss Re, HSBC, Global CCS
Institute, the Dutch Postcode Lottery, TckTckTck, The Carbon Disclosure Project, Timberland and Edelman.
Read more at
Source: theclimategroup.org [...]
* Panasonic in battery talks with about 20 car makers
[...]
AMP, one of the emerging companies in the gas-guzzler conversion industry, made an intriguing announcement about an undefined relationship with a major carmaker, prompting reports by two longtime automotive journalists. And we have news of a birthday milestone! [...]
ScienceDaily (Sep. 28, 2010) — Electric cars hold greater promise for reducing emissions and lowering U.S. oil imports than a national renewable portfolio standard, according to research conducted by Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. [...]
Plug In America wants you to know about three great environmental events in the San Francisco Bay Area happening over the next 3 weeks, and about special admission deals for our supporters. [...]
Clean Technology 2010 Conference & Expo: Clean Technology 2010 brings together over 5,000 technology and business leaders and experts from academia, investment, government, startups and Fortune 1,000 companies. [...]
Newly announced Blink Network locations in Ashland and Medford strengthens the state’s EV infrastructure along the I-5 corridor
[...]
Singapore, September 29 – After a slow start, the Government-funded plan to put a test fleet of electric cars on the road could finally be plugged in and ready to roll. [...]
Plans for 1,100 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Oregon have been unveiled by the company behind the largest deployment of EV infrastructure in the world.
[...]
Interview with Brian Wynne, Electric Drive Transportation Association
As you’re likely aware, this year is a big one for electric cars — two of the highest profile EVs ever aimed at the mainstream are slated to debut soon. Meanwhile, the political and cultural climate is beginning to shift away from the oily favoritism of decades past: Gas prices are rising ever higher, and there’s a new premium on efficient vehicles. All in all, it looks like the long-promised electric vehicle revolution is on the horizon. It might just need a little push. And that’s exactly what the Electric Drive Transportation Association is planning on doing. I already highlighted the group’s initiative to bring EVs into the mainstream consumer consciousness at this year’s CGI. I had the opportunity to ask EDTA president Brian Wynne more about his program — and he explains how and why the era of the EV has finally arrived. [...]
Every innovation comes with small problems. In the electric car sector one will be for sure the disposal of drained batteries. GM has a solution for this problem: in collaboration with ABB Group they will give another purpose for the used battery. The will store energy generated through solar and wind systems.
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Revolutionary, Green Technology to Help Advance the Establishment of a Global Infrastructure for Electric Vehicle Charging
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China Southern Power Grid Co. is building electric-car charging stations in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, and in the Guangxi provincial towns of Nanning and Guilin to speed efforts for developing a smart grid.
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