Filed under: Emerging Technologies, EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, ZENN

Readers who are familiar with hybrid and electric vehicle drivetrains will already know what a capacitor is, but here is a brief explanation. A battery is a chemical means of storing electricity, while a capacitor is a mechanical means of storing electricity. Both can be recharged, and both can be discharged. One reason to choose a capacitor over a battery is that the mechanical capacitor can generally charge and discharge its electrical energy much more quickly than the chemical battery can. Alternatively, one reason to choose a chemical battery is that they generally store a longer lasting charge of electricity at lower voltages than the mechanical capacitor can. A quick high charge of current (capacitor), or a slower, longer lasting charge of current (battery). Hope that makes sense.

Carmakers have already realized the benefits of a hybrid battery\capacitor energy storage system. Aftermarket and automotive supplier companies have been working on capacitor technology as well; EEStor springs right to mind as one to watch. Researchers at the University of Arizona have used nanotechnology to create a new type of capacitor called Digitized Energy Storage Devices. or DESD's. According to them, "DESDs have a very high capacitance-to-volume ratio that's more than 10,000 times larger than a conventional parallel-plate capacitor of the same size. This makes for a device with large capacitance in a small package."

This is a rather exciting technology to watch, and if you are interested in more of the science behind their work, click here and read the whole article.

EDIT: Added the link to the source article above.

Related:

• More on EEstor's ultracapacitor - can we believe the hype?
• Quick update on EEStor and ZENN Motors
• EDTA Conference: Secret effects of EESTOR ultracapacitor info from ZENN Motor CEO

[Source: University of Arizona]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Filed under: Biodiesel, Ethanol

Speaking at the Power-Gen conference in Las Vegas, managing consultant Michele Rubino has been reported as posing the question, "which makes more sense: ethanol or biodiesel?" Rubino, who works at Navigant Consulting, didn't hesitate to say that it was ethanol that made more sense and that "biodiesel has worse economics."

His conclusion was based on the fact that biodiesel is currently more expensive than petroleum diesel and represents a smaller potential market in comparison to ethanol. Currently raw soy oil costs about $2 wholesale per gallon leading to the final biodiesel price being much higher than the regular diesel price of around $1.80. The U.S. Federal government subsidises biodiesel production up to $1 per gallon.

Analysis: If economics were the only factor, we probably wouldn't have ethanol or biodiesel at all because petroleum fuels are still so cheap. But is economics the only factor? Haven't we learnt that we discount the value of a clean and healthy environment at our peril? Did Rubino factor in the massive health and environmental benefits of using biodiesel instead of petroleum diesel? In today's climate, presenting a purely economic argument against a biofuel is a naive and one dimensional point-of-view.

Related:

• DOE & USDA study proves biodiesel massively reduces dangerous emissions
• New Mexico House passes B5 by 2012 bill with 47-8 vote
• Chevron moving into biodiesel production

[Source: CNet News]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Toyota

Click on the photo for a gallery of high-res images of the Hybrid-X Concept

Toyota CEO Katsuaki Watanabe spoke to BusinessWeek recently and confirmed that the next-generation Prius will definitely have a lithium ion battery when it comes out later in 2008. Watanabe also said that Toyota was focusing on improving both the performance and efficiency of their third-generation hybrid system. The target is to cut both the size and the cost of the next-generation hybrid system by half.

Watanabe acknowledged that they had concerns with the durability and robustness of lithium ion batteries in automotive applications, due to the extreme conditions they must endure in automotive applications compared to consumer electronics. They are actively testing and developing the batteries to be able to work reliably in cars. In addition to the batteries, Toyota is also cutting the size of the motors and inverters in half compared to the current cars. If they can accomplish all of those goals they will be able to incorporate hybrid drive-trains in to more of their vehicles and widen their lead further. The only thing that wasn't mentioned was the plug-in possibility, so we'll have to wait longer to find out if that is included.



[Source: BusinessWeek]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Filed under: EV/Plug-in

Back in December when I interviewed Jory Squib, who created the incredibly small Moonbeam, he discussed his idea of safety in the small car as the mosquito theory. Mosquitoes are not very well armored (compared to, say, a big old beetle), but they evade swatting hands (sometimes) by being agile. Jory said he felt the same way in his Moonbeam, but admitted there are limits to what he can do - a front-end collision would do him in, he said. This is vastly different from the big car, battering ram safety mentality that a lot of people have and helps sell a lot of SUVs.

So now we turn our attention back to Electric Cars are for Girls, where Lynne looks into an email she got from a NEV driver out on California. Joe was driving his ZENN when the car was struck by a Sequoia, but luckily Joe and his girlfriend both escaped with only light bruises. Thanks to some physics described by the local high school teacher, the why is explained over at the site.

[Source: Electric Cars are for Girls]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Filed under: Etc., EV/Plug-in, Transportation Alternatives

I have seen DIY Segways before. Hey, if you want a Segway, but don't want to pay their price... and you are smart enough to make one yourself, go for it! Which is exactly what these guys in England did. Except, they made theirs a UniSegway. I just invented that term - what do you think? Watch the video and see how it works. Oh yeah, if you have any ideas of doing this yourself, you'll need to learn how to write code for the controller that makes it all work, or find someone who is willing to do it for you.

Related:

• Will there be competition for the Segway soon from Sony?
• Segway i2 and x2 Transporters

[Source: Ben Smither via Engadget]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

The folding bike program is similar to the electronic bike program, started by the Santa Cruz Area Transportation Management Association in 2000.

Efficient techniques to produce hydrogen fuel cell components are key to making hydrogen-powered systems commercially available.

Q'orianka Kilcher becomes the youngest customer to lease the company's environmental status symbol.

Owners who drive a Volt and stay within 40 miles of home on trips, never using any gasoline, would save up to $900 a year compared to driving the average 30-mile-per-gallon car, based on costs of $300 a year in electricity and $2.40 a gallon gas.

Consumer Reports concludes its 'likely that we'll see a lot more hybrids and plug-in hybrids that rely more heavily on electricity by 2020 and beyond, but whether they'll use mobile hydrogen fuel cells remains an open question.'