Transportation
Agreement will lead to grid-friendly electric vehicle charging
March 7, 2013 3:16 pm | News | Comments
A technology that will allow widespread adoption of plug-in electric vehicles without negatively impacting the electrical grid is the subject of a commercial license agreement between Battelle and AeroVironment, Inc., of Monrovia, Calif. The technology may also ultimately result in lower costs for plug-in electric vehicle owners.
Study reveals potential for deep cuts to petroleum use, emissions
March 19, 2013 4:16 pm | News | Comments
The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Argonne...
Agreement will lead to grid-friendly electric vehicle charging
March 7, 2013 3:16 pm | News | Comments
A technology that will allow widespread adoption of plug-in electric vehicles without negatively...
Alternative-fuel cars are no carbon cure-all
June 12, 2013 8:31 am | News | CommentsMaking cars more fuel-efficient is great for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but rather than promoting sales of electric and other alternative-fuel vehicles, policymakers should turn their focus to cutting emissions in other energy sectors—from oil wells and power plants to farms and forests affected by biofuels production—says a Univ. of Michigan researcher.
Sandia, SRI International sign pact to advance hydrogen gas research
May 30, 2013 7:50 am | News | CommentsSandia National Laboratories and SRI International will join forces to explore, test and evaluate a broad range of hydrogen and natural gas fuel systems and components for transportation applications under a new agreement. The five-year memorandum of understanding is the first agreement in Sandia’s new Center for Infrastructure Research and Innovation, an alternative fuel research and innovation facility.
Oil drilling technology leaps, clean energy lags
May 2, 2013 1:52 pm | by JONATHAN FAHEY - AP Energy Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsTechnology created an energy revolution over the past decade—just not the one we expected. By now, cars were supposed to be running on fuel made from plant waste or algae—or powered by hydrogen or cheap batteries that burned nothing at all. Electricity would be generated with solar panels and wind turbines. When the sun didn't shine or the wind didn't blow, power would flow out of batteries the size of tractor-trailers.
Obama wants research to wean vehicles off oil
March 15, 2013 6:01 am | by MATTHEW DALY - Associated Press - Associated Press | News | CommentsPresident Barack Obama is pushing Congress to authorize more federally funded research into clean energy technologies that can wean automobiles off oil. Obama proposed the idea of an energy security trust last month in his State of the Union address, but he was putting a price tag on the idea during a trip Friday to the Argonne National Laboratory outside Chicago—$2 billion over 10 years.
Ford, Daimler, Nissan to research hydrogen cars
January 28, 2013 10:39 am | by TOM KRISHER - AP Auto Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsFord is joining with Daimler and Renault-Nissan to speed development of cars that run on hydrogen, with hopes of bringing a vehicle to market in as little as four years. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles generate electricity after a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is stored in special high-pressure tanks, and the only emissions are water vapor and heat.
The “rebound” effect of energy-efficient cars overplayed
January 24, 2013 8:18 am | News | CommentsThe argument that those who have fuel-efficient cars drive them more and hence use more energy is overplayed and inaccurate, a University of California, Davis economist and his co-authors say in a comment article published in Nature.
Photovoltaics beat biofuels at converting sun's energy to miles driven
January 17, 2013 10:51 am | News | CommentsUniversity of California, Santa Barbara researchers debate which makes more sense, growing fuel crops to supply alternative-fuel vehicles with ethanol and other biofuels or using photovoltaics to directly power battery electric vehicles?
NREL launches interactive tool for developing a cleaner energy future
January 15, 2013 2:20 pm | News | CommentsThe U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has created an energy analysis tool to help individuals and educators experiment with future energy use scenarios. The interactive Buildings, Industry, Transportation, Electricity, and Transportation Scenarios (BITES) allows users to explore how changes in energy demand and supply can impact carbon dioxide emissions and the current U.S. energy trajectory.
Researchers seek longer battery life for electric locomotive
January 4, 2013 9:34 am | News | CommentsNorfolk Southern Railway No. 999 is the first all-electric, battery-powered locomotive in the United States. But when one of the thousand lead-acid batteries that power it dies, the locomotive shuts down. To combat this problem, a team of Penn State University researchers is developing more cost-effective ways to prolong battery life.
New factor could limit life of hybrid and electric car batteries
December 13, 2012 8:02 am | News | CommentsA new study of the batteries commonly used in hybrid and electric-only cars has revealed an unexpected factor that could limit the performance of batteries currently on the road. Researchers led by Ohio State University engineers examined used car batteries and discovered that over time lithium accumulates beyond the battery electrodes—in the "current collector," a sheet of copper which facilitates electron transfer between the electrodes and the car's electrical system.
A closer examination of electric vehicles and the power grid
December 12, 2012 3:32 pm | News | CommentsAs plug-in electric vehicles become an ever-more central part of America's daily life, University of Notre Dame researchers are anticipating what that development will mean for the nation's power grid. Under funding from the National Science Foundation's Cyber-Physical Systems Program, a research group is attempting to develop mathematical algorithms to help guide the integration of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles into the power grid.
Fuel economy remains at record high, emissions at record low
December 7, 2012 9:29 am | News | CommentsFuel economy of all new vehicles sold in the United States remains at its highest level ever, while emissions are at a record low, say researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.
Georgia Tech collaborates with GE, Ford on alternative fuel vehicle research
November 26, 2012 8:35 am | News | CommentsResearchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology are partnering with GE and Ford Motor Co. to study ways to add greater efficiencies to electric driving and charging performance.
Better fuel economy: Billions and billions saved
October 15, 2012 12:20 pm | News | CommentsAs fuel economy of new vehicles improved 18% over the past five years, billions of gallons of gas and billions of pounds of emissions have been saved, say University of Michigan researchers. To reach these results, the researchers collected fuel data on 61 million new cars, pickup trucks, minivans, and SUVs sold in the U.S. since 2007.
Engineering students build U.K.'s first hydrogen-powered locomotive
August 22, 2012 5:06 am | News | CommentsEngineering students and staff at the University of Birmingham have designed and built a prototype hydrogen-powered locomotive, the first of its kind to operate in the U.K. The narrow gauge locomotive is a hybrid design, combining a hydrogen fuel cell and lead acid batteries similar to the ones used in cars.
DOE grant goes to lithium-ion battery development
August 6, 2012 5:43 am | News | CommentsWashington University in St. Louis recently landed a $2 million U.S. Dept. of Energy grant with $1.2 million in matching funds from the university to design a battery management system for lithium-ion batteries that will guarantee their longevity, safety and performance. The development is geared toward electric vehicle technologies.
Vehicle fuel economy falls again in May
June 7, 2012 9:57 am | News | CommentsFor the second straight month, fuel economy of all new vehicles sold in the United States fell by 0.2 mpg—likely reflecting a slight drop in gas prices, say researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.
Argonne sets sights on natural gas cars, trucks
June 5, 2012 12:23 pm | News | CommentsAs the United States' natural gas reserves have sparked an interest in natural gas-powered vehicles, Argonne National Laboratory is hoping to use its automotive research facilities to lead the way in natural-gas vehicle testing.
Summer gas prices to be stable if...
May 23, 2012 5:39 am | News | CommentsGasoline prices this summer could stay relatively steady provided that an already-tense Middle East doesn't flare up and nothing else happens to disrupt supplies, a Purdue University economist says.
Civil engineers find savings where the rubber meets the road
May 23, 2012 3:44 am | by Denise Brehm, Civil and Environmental Engineering | News | CommentsA new study by civil engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows that using stiffer pavements on the nation's roads could reduce vehicle fuel consumption by as much as 3%—a savings that could add up to 273 million barrels of crude oil per year, or $15.6 billion at today's oil prices. This would result in an accompanying annual decrease in carbon dioxide emissions of 46.5 million metric tons.
Nature-inspired, 3D-Printed
April 19, 2012 11:48 am | by Jim Kor, PEng., KOR EcoLogic Inc., Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | Articles | CommentsThe first 3D-printed car body may set the pace for a new mode of manufacturing.
Gas mileage, CAFE performance up 20% since late 2007
April 10, 2012 10:57 am | News | CommentsFuel economy of all new vehicles sold in the United States has topped 24 mpg for the first time ever, say researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.
Airbus, Boeing, Embraer collaborate on aviation biofuel commercialization
March 23, 2012 7:52 am | News | CommentsAirbus, Boeing, and Embraer signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together on the development of drop-in, affordable aviation biofuels. The collaboration agreement supports the industry's multi-pronged approach to continuously reduce the industry's carbon emissions.
Aircraft of the future could capture and re-use their own power
February 23, 2012 9:09 am | News | CommentsTomorrow's aircraft could contribute to their power needs by harnessing energy from the wheel rotation of their landing gear to generate electricity. They could use this to power their taxiing to and from airport buildings, reducing the need to use their jet engines. This would save on aviation fuel, cut emissions, and reduce noise pollution at airports.
A natural solution for transportation
February 3, 2012 3:46 am | News | CommentsAs the United States transitions away from a primarily petroleum-based transportation industry, a number of different alternative fuel sources—ethanol, biodiesel, electricity, and hydrogen—have each shown their own promise. Hoping to expand the pool even further, researchers at Argonne National Laboratory have begun to investigate adding one more contender to the list of possible energy sources for light-duty cars and trucks: Compressed natural gas.
