By the middle of the next decade Mercedes-Benz wants its entire lineup to be able to operate entirely free of petroleum. The German giant is working on a variety of technologies that will help provide crude oil free transport such as battery electrics, fuel cells and highly efficient internal combustion engines that can operate on biofuels. Mercedes has recently been letting European journalists sample some of these new powertrains at a test facility in Spain.

The F700 concept that debuted last fall in Frankfurt is powered by a turbocharged DiesOtto engine. The DiesOtto is Mercedes' branding for a combined HCCI and spark ignition engine that provides nearly the same efficiency as a diesel without the need for the expensive after-treatment systems. This and conventional diesel engines can run on biofuels and Mercedes hopes to launch the DiesOtto in production by 2010. Mercedes is also currently field testing electrically-driven vehicles with both batteries alone and fuel cells each of which they also plan to launch at the beginning of the decade. While it may well be that all Mercedes models in 2015 will be capable of running petroleum free, the reality is that many - if not most - will still be using fossil fuels much of the time. That may come in the form of coal for electricity, natural gas reformed into hydrogen, or petroleum fuels blended with biofuels. But you have to start somewhere.

[Source: The Sun]

The first known instance of a plug-in hybrid car going up in flames occurred on June 7 in Columbia, South Carolina to a 2008 Prius that had been converted to plug-in capability for the Central Electric Power Cooperative. The conversion was performed with a Hybrids-Plus PHEV15 conversion kit that uses an A123 Systems lithium ion battery pack. The incident is still under investigation by Phoenix, Arizona-based Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation. Initial information indicates the fire may have been triggered by something related to the on-board battery charger and the car had previously experienced some mechanical issues related to that.

Unfortunately, the car didn't have a data logging system installed which might have helped to isolate the cause. No one was injured and the battery pack sustained some damage but was apparently intact and functional - implying that it was not the cause of the fire. What this points out is that before plug-in hybrids and EVs are brought to market a lot of engineering and validation testing needs to be done to ensure that all systems in the car are safe, durable and properly integrated. This is actually the part of vehicle development that often takes the most time. It's not just the batteries that have to work, but all the bits and pieces around it. That's why it's taking almost four years from concept to production for the Volt and why Toyota is in no rush to bring the PHEV Prius to market.

[Source: Cooperative Research Network, thanks to the un-named reader for the tip!]

Enova Systems has been collaborating with IC Bus for the past couple of years to build a series of plug-in hybrid school buses for testing purposes. Enova recently had an independent CARB-certified lab conduct dynamometer tests on a pair of PHEV school buses to compare the fuel consumption and emissions against conventional models. Enova's system is designed to be installed downstream of the transmission so that it can be easily adapted to buses and drivetrains from different manufacturers. One 2007 and one 2008 IC Bus Series CE bus with different engines and transmissions were tested on a West Virginia University Suburban Test Cycle designed to emulate a typical school bus duty cycle. In the tests, the PHEV buses saw a 70 percent reduction in diesel fuel consumption. Carbon dioxide emissions were cut by 40 percent while soot and NOx were reduced by 30 and 20 percent, respectively. IC Bus has also decided to cut the $200,000+ of the hybrid buses by $40,000. Currently there are 19 of the Enova equipped buses running in eleven states.

[Source: Enova]

Ford's test program for the Escape plug-in hybrid is expanding beyond the original partnership with Southern California Edison (SCE). The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) will join the program, setting up a group of utilities in the New York-New Jersey area that will also participate in the test program of the twenty PHEV Escapes that Ford is building. The Escapes will initially be tested in California by SCE after which the fleet will be shared with the EPRI group.

The expanded test program will help increase the understanding of the potential impact of plug-in hybrid vehicles on the electrical grid. Including northeastern states in the testing will allow the evaluation of the impact in different regions and weather conditions. The collaboration among utilities in different areas should help them to standardize what kinds of accommodations need to be made to the grid and power generation systems to accommodate larger numbers of plug-in vehicles. More after the break.

Related:

• 95 years for a PHEV conversion to pay for itself in gas savings?
• ABG First Impression: Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid w/Video

Last year, Google made some waves when they announced the RechargeIT project to convert a fleet of Toyota Priuses and Ford Escape hybrids to plug-in capability. The company has just issued their first progress report on the program, and the results may be disappointing for those promoting plug-in conversions. Right now the only way to get a plug-in hybrid is to buy an off-the shelf model like the Prius or Escape and than install a $10-15,000 conversion kit. Unfortunately, as we learned from a recent interview with GM's Pete Savagian, a conversion PHEV provides a limited additional benefit over a conventional parallel hybrid because the motors typically don't have enough power to drive the vehicle under most conditions without the engine turning on.

The other issue is that as fuel efficiency increases, the incremental savings in fuel use actually decrease. This is more apparent if you use the European units of fuel consumption which is measured in L/100km. If consumption is reduced from 12L/100km (19.6mpg) to 6L/100km (39.2mpg) you would save 6L on a 100km trip. Doubling mileage again going to 3L/100km (78.2mpg) only saves an additional 3L. This is apparent when you take an already efficient car like the Prius which starts at 44.6mpg and increase it to the 66.2mpg that Google saw. The result over 12,000 miles of annual driving is 88 gallons of fuel saved. At $3/gal, that's $158/year (after factoring in electricity costs). At that rate the $15,000 conversion would take 95 years to recover the cost. Ouch.

Google points out that most of the driving was on short runs where the engine often runs early in the drive to power certain vehicle subsystems. Longer runs would increase the mileage further, but you still have the issue of diminishing returns. With gas at $5/gal and a conversion cost of $10,000, the payback drops to a mere thirty years. Until vehicles are actually engineered from the ground up as PHEVs and mass produced to bring down cost, the cost benefits simply won't be realized by people doing conversions. Reduced emissions and oil use, though, should still take place.

[Source: Google.org via CNet]

Below the fold are three videos from the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show. The first video includes many green cars like the Toyota Nissan Pivo 2, Audi Metroproject, Honda CR-Z and Toyota Hi-CT. The most interesting part of that video is a tour of the Hi-CT which shows the ignition on the ceiling and mini Segway-like vehicles on the back. The plug being pulled out of the hybrid Metroproject was also very interesting as well. The second video is just the hybrid Metroproject with shots of the interior. The third video shows the strange, Mazda's wind-inspired concept car, the Taiki. It seems green has taken over yet another major auto show this year.

[Source: YouTube]

Last night's NBC Republican presidential debate took an unexpected turn to the green. For almost half an hour, the candidates talked about alternatives to oil and ethanol. Senator Sam Brownback even talked about a flex-fuel, plug-in hybrid car. Sam went into specifics saying he would like to see an electric-only range of 20 to 30 miles on plug-in hybrids. You can watch the video of Sam talking about plug-in, flex fuels below the fold. Here is the quote:

"We've got to get more electricity involved in our car fleet. There's a Chevy Malibu parked out front here that's a hybrid flex fuel. They've got hybrid cars; they've got flex fuel cars. I think that's a big part of the answer. I'd like to see us move forward with getting those first 20 to 30 miles off of electricity that you plug into at night. That's technology. We're putting forward tax credits and incentives to try to move that forward. That's something Detroit here needs to grab on, and is. And that can move us forward as an industry and as a country."

As for ethanol, Ron Paul does not support subsidies and neither does John McCain even though he drinks a glass of ethanol daily. In one of the funnier moments of the night, Mike Huckabee said we have to increase the pace of our support for ethanol. All the ethanol plans, Mike says, are for 15, 20 years in the future. Mike thinks we can do it in less than a decade if we worked at it like a mission to the moon or (because Huckabee knows his audience) a Nascar pit stop. You can also watch that video below the fold. Here is the quote.

"We can't wait until another generation. Instead of running it like Nascar, we've been running it like taking the family station wagon in for letting Goober and Gomer take a look at it when they get time, under the shade tree."

So, is Bush Goober or Gomer?

[Source: Mother Jones, Wall Street Journal]

Remember this picture? That's GM's Jill Ladjiak at last year's LA Auto Show when the General announced the plug-in Saturn Vue hybrid. Pretty excited, no? At the time, GM's Rick Wagoner said the PHEV Vue, which will use a modified version of GM's 2-mode hybrid system and a lithium Ion battery pack, was a "top priority" but no one would dare suggest when the car might be available for sale. Since then, we've had all kinds of updates on the progress of batter development and other things that need to happen to get you, yes you, a plug-in Saturn.

The Detroit Free Press' Mark Phelan is now reporting that Lajdziak told him in Frankfurt this week that the plug-in Vue is coming "very quickly ... in 2009-ish." So, we're getting there. Remember, though, that GM is not new to the plug-in game: here are plans for a PHEV from 38 years ago.

Related:

• In the AutoblogGreen Garage: 2007 Saturn Vue Green Line
• GM Awards two lithium-ion battery contracts for PHEV Saturn Vue
• Chicago Auto Show: 2008 Saturn Vue Green Line Hybrid unveiled
• US gets three hybrid Saturn Vues, Europe gets a diesel Opel Antara

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Yesterday, Sam pointed out in a late-night posting that GM might be planning on producing as many as 60,000 Volts in its first year of manufacture. It is thought that GM could make a profit on the vehicle if it sold that many for a bit under $30,000. But, is it possible?

According to Menahem Anderman, president of Advanced Automotive Batteries, maybe not. He said, A 60,000-unit target "is totally ridiculous at this point. To reach that level by 2010, they'd need to be placing the orders right now." He went on to suggest that A123, GM's battery supplier of choice, does not have "experience in high-volume manufacturing on such a scale."

What does Toyota think about all of this conjecture? According to Irv Miller from Toyota, "We have consistently affirmed that there are many issues that need to be resolved, beyond the safety and reliability of lithium-ion batteries, before a commercial lithium-ion-equipped hybrid – and what we're talking about here is the so-called plug-in hybrid, or PHEV - is ready for the market.

"These issues include battery cost, availability, performance and packaging. All of the car makers face the same problems when it comes to these issues. The answers, unfortunately, are not just around the corner... They will appear only when our high standards are met."

So, what do you think? Will GM beat Toyota to market with a plug-in hybrid using lithium ion batteries? Will they be able to make 60,000 of them in the first year of production? You have the floor.

[Source: Bloomberg and Toyota's blog]

The first comment to Toyota's blog entry about the plugin hybrid tests was by... THE FERC! Jon Wellinghoff the commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or FERC. He wanted to know about V2G (vehicle-to-grid) considerations in the tests. Toyota was "VERY INTERESTED" In Jon's question, (I'm guessing because, you know, he's head of the FERC and all) so they did a follow up post all about V2G.

So why is Jon posting to Toyota's blog? Don't you think the head of the FERC could get someone at Toyota on the phone if they liked? I did a bit of digging and found it might have something to do with what DOE thinks of V2G. Check out this pdf. It includes comments by Jon and Willett Kempton, a professor University of Delaware, that says "the DOE PHEV R&D Plan explicitly chooses to ignore the CashBack hybrid and dismisses V2G technology." Also: "By ignoring the demonstrated economics of CashBack hybrid and V2G technology, DOE comes to an incorrect conclusion." Ouch! Dems fighting words!

So the blog post was probably just another way for Jon to push V2G because the DOE is dragging its feet. I don't know about you, but I think this is pretty cool. You would think he would write an Op Ed in a newspaper or something. Instead he replies to a blog post. You gotta love the web. I wonder if Jon is reading this? Feel free to post a comment, Jon :D

[Source: Green Wombat]

I'm just going to assume you've heard that Toyota is testing a plug-in Prius on public roads in Japan. If this has slipped by you, check out the links below. Otherwise, you know that the PHEV uses the standard nickel metal hydride batteries, not new and fancy lithium ion batteries. So, what does the plug-in NiMH give you? BusinessWeek fills us in.

First, the PHEV is 100 kilograms (220 pounds) heavier than the standard Prius. The larger battery means there's no room for a spare tire. The test models can go just 13 kilometers on electric power alone, and the 1.5-liter gas engine kicks in any time the speed goes over 100 kmh (the current Prius' gas engine starts up at 68 kmh). The batteries recharge in 60-90 minutes at 200 volts or 3-4 hours at 100 volts.

If emissions are all you're concerned about, the PHEV Prius looks good. Probably. Even with the excess weight and figuring in "emissions created in the production of the electricity used to recharge the batteries" (BusinessWeek's phrase), is cleaner than current hybrids. BusinessWeek explains the differences depending on where you plug it in:

However, the level of emissions reduction varies from country to country, depending on how the electricity is produced. In France, which relies heavily on nuclear power, the projected carbon dioxide reduction could be as much 45%, Toyota estimates. But in the U.S., where most energy is created by burning fossil fuels, the benefits are far smaller, at an estimated 4%. Toyota says those benefits could be boosted by the use of biofuels, which the plug-in Prius accepts.

So, the plug-in Prius - as it's being tested right now - nets us just four percent decrease in CO2 emissions. The good news is that that number can only get greener.

Related:

• Toyota gets Japanese approval for PHEV Prius road tests
• Toyota will test plug-in Prius, with li-ion packs, in Japan

[Source: BusinessWeek]

Hot on the heels of A123Systems announcing that they would start selling plug-in hybrid conversion kits that are developed with Hymotion, A123 is now buying Hymotion outright. Hymotion developed and fabricates battery packs that can be installed in the spare tire well of a Toyota Prius. The battery packs have integrated battery charge management electronics. So far the Hymotion system has only be available to fleets but regular consumers will be able to buy them in 2008.

[Source: A123Systems]

Karl Brauer, Editor in Chief at Edmund's has his own blog on the site, and in the latest installment, he highlights an electric motorcycle that I have heard about before, the Killacycle. What I did not know is that the cycle is capable of making a run to sixty from a standing stop in 1.4 seconds. The lithium ion batteries for the cycle come from A123 Systems and cost $12,000 in this one-time application. Karl thinks that if these batteries are available right now for an electric motorcycle, and have been super reliable, then we cannot possibly be that far off from a reasonably priced plug-in hybrid. I think his argument makes perfect sense. Everybody who reads this site is probably familiar with the idea of economy-of-scale. Basically, the more of a product you make, the less each individual product will cost. Makes sense, right? If batteries like these were made in the amounts necessary for a midsize car which sold, say, 50,000 units per year, that $12,000 battery pack should go down in price. That is the idea, at least. Care to comment?

Related:

• Watch an electric motorcycle run an 8-second quarter mile

[Source: Edmunds]

A favorite of the U.S. Army, Ford and GM for various hydrogen vehicle services (see links below), Quantum announced today that the California South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) has given Quantum a $2.1 million contract to "develop and demonstrate plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs)" that get 35-40 miles of battery-only driving.

Quantum convert 20 2008 Ford Escape Hybrids (see gallery below) into PHEVs for demonstration. The PHEVs will be powered by lithium ion battery packs and have management systems from Advanced Lithium Power Inc., one of Quantum partners. Details after the break.



Related:

• U.S. Army looks to Quantum for mobile hydrogen refuelling
• Ford E450 Shuttle buses powered by Quantum hydrogen injectors
• GM selects Quantum Fuel Systems to produce H2 storage for Equinox Fuel-Cell Fleet

[Source: Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc.

Malcolm Bricklin, the man known for bringing Subaru and Yugo to the U.S., says that he is working on a new prototype hybrid vehicle. The prototype is being built in the States, but Bricklin plans to save about $3,000 per vehicle by having them made in China.

Bricklin expects the vehicle to return 100 miles per gallon, and be available for sale in the U.S. by 2009. The first model he plans will be a 4-door sedan followed by a CUV, or crossover vehicle.

The vehicle is going to use lithium-ion batteries and have a plug-in hybrid system much like the one designed for the Chevy Volt, using an internal combustion engine to power the batteries, not the wheels.

It sounds like he has all the bases covered as far as technical specs, hitting on all the current buzzworthy trends: made in China, plug-in hybrid-drive, li-ion batteries, Crossover Utility Vehicle... did I miss anything?

This newest announcement comes after Bricklin and Chery broke off negotiations to bring new cars to the U.S. under the umbrella of his "Visionary Vehicles" company. Chery has gone on to sign an agreement with Daimler-Chrysler to build the Hornet concept.

[Source: USA Today]