4EVRiders.org – Charging Locator and News on Electric and Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles

The potential electric car future will get a reboot in December, when a thousand new cars are scheduled to arrive in the region, supported by the beginnings of a new recharging infrastructure. Read More...

Toyota Motor Corp delivered a lecture on the development of its lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery at the 3rd Int’l Automotive Electronics Technology Expo, which took place from Jan 20 to 22, 2010, in Tokyo. Read More...

For years, the electric cars on display at the Detroit auto show looked like something Captain Kirk would drive. Read More...

BELLEVUE, Wash. – (Business Wire) The future of transportation parked at Bellevue Square this morning, just like thousands of other cars and trucks do daily – the difference is that the future is quieter, cleaner and boasts zero tailpipe emissions. Read More...

Boulder, Colorado – Driven by demand for plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles, which require much larger battery packs than conventional hybrids, the market for lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries will reach US$8 billion worldwide by 2015, up from $878 million in 2010, according to a report by Pike Research. Read More...

A small California company called BioSolar is introducing plastic components for photovoltaic (PV) cells based on cotton and castor oil that are described as less costly than plastics based on petroleum. Read More...

Source: minerals.usgs.gov Read More...

There are plenty of things about driving to make your blood pressure rise: screaming kids in the back, crappy songs on the radio, rising gas prices, idiot drivers who don’t know what they’re doing and need to get off the phone and keep their eyes on the road and…
Whew, sorry, got a little hot under the collar there. Anyway, researchers from Egypt just published a study in BMC Physiology identifying another ubiquitous aspect of driving that could be making drivers angier: gas fumes. The scientists exposed some rats to fumes of leaded gas (which you can still buy in Egypt) and others to unleaded, but both groups became more prone to chattering their teeth, arching their backs, and biting.
Source: blogs.discovermagazine.com Read More...

U.S. and Chinese Presidents, Barack Obama and Hu Jintao, more or less announced their partnership in clean energy technology last Tuesday. Specifically, the two signed official documents declaring their “cooperation on climate change, energy and environment.”
Their first task will be constructing a U.S-China Clean Energy Research Center in a joint effort to promote clean energy. The $150 million research center will facilitate research and development of clean energy technology by groups of engineers and scientists from the U.S. and China. The center will be both publicly and privately funded evenly between the two countries over the course of its predicted five-year construction period. Their current research priorities include energy efficiency, clean coal including carbon capture and storage, and clean vehicles.
Source: gsjournal.com Read More...

IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc. (Nasdaq: QTWW), today announced that it and its subsidiary, Quantum Solar Energy, Inc. (”Quantum Solar”), has entered into a non-binding letter of intent with New Energy Systems, LLC (”NES”), which sets forth the terms by which NES would invest $20 million in Quantum Solar in exchange for a 34% ownership interest in Quantum Solar. Quantum Solar will use the investment proceeds to establish a state of the art solar photovoltaic module manufacturing facility in Irvine, California, with an expected annual capacity of 45 MW.
Source: prnewswire.comRead More...

General Motors will announce Wednesday that it’s working with one of the largest advocacy organizations for the vision-impaired to find ways for the next-generation electric cars to make enough noise that pedestrians can hear them coming. Read More...

In the quest to supply electricity for millions of future electric cars, engineers have stumbled upon the most unlikely of energy prospects — the car itself.
If that sounds like a bit of tangled logic to you, then you’re not alone. The very idea leaves most intelligent people scratching their heads.
Still, the concept is being examined by auto companies, utilities, universities and industry consultants. And many believe the electric car battery could turn out to be one of the most important sources of current for … well, the electric car battery.
Source: designnews.com Read More...

Actress Alexandra Paul, an activist and former star of “Baywatch,” is so passionate about electric cars, she even got arrested for trying to save hers. Paul, a founding board member of Plug In America, is currently starring in the Lifetime movie “The Boy She Met Online” and co-stars in the film “The Frankenstein Brothers” due out next year.
Source: tech.groups.yahoo.com Read More...

Congress has approved a bill that would would allow fuel-efficient three-wheeled vehicles to be made eligible for the same federal funds that have been going to other automakers. The measure now goes to President Obama for his signature, and there’s every indication he’ll sign it.
The bill could make funds available to companies such as Aptera Motors, which is making a novel three-wheeled electric vehicle. The co-sponsor of the original bill, Brian Bilbray, a Republican, represents San Diego County in California where Aptera is headquartered.
Curiously, three-wheeled car makers may have lacked the funds given other automakers, but they have had a key advantage: Their vehicles have been classed as motorcycles when it comes to safety regulations, vastly simplifying government hurdles to get built.
Source: content.usatoday.com Read More...

At West Coast Green, PG&E featured the all-electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV, a vehicle that could premiere in the United States as early as next year. Since West Coast Green is an expo focused specifically on the built environment, Eco Factory turned to PG&E Spokesman Kory Raftery to get a glimpse of the potential future of Northern California’s roadways and how utilities and the smart grid system could be crucial for zero-carbon vehicles. Below is the question and answer format produced by our interview with Kory Raftery.
Source: ecofactory.com Read More...