New posts from Gas 2.0!

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• Fuel-cell Suzuki Approved for EU Sale
• Why Doesn’t GM Build a Diet Chevy Volt?
• Car Crosses Australia on Wind Power

Fuel-cell Suzuki Approved for EU Sale Posted: 11 Mar 2011 02:10 PM PST Suzuki is quietly establishing itself as a leader in alternative fuel vehicles with the production of CNG-fueled cars and electric scooter concepts.  Suzuki clearly hopes to continue this trend in 2011, and one of Suzuki’s development partners – Intelligent Energy – reported yesterday that the company had received approval from the EU’s governing bodies to begin sales of a hydrogen fuel-cell version of the company’s award-winning Burgman maxi-scoot (first introduced as a concept vehicle in 2009). With the electric powerplant supplying instant-on torque, the fuel-cell Suzuki should be one of the quickest ways to carve through modern-day traffic out there. Full press release, below. Intelligent Energy: Suzuki Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter Obtains Whole Vehicle Type Approval World’s first WVTA certified fuel cell vehicle by Intelligent Energy and Suzuki LOUGHBOROUGH, England – Intelligent Energy, the global clean power systems company, and Suzuki Motor Corporation, have today announced that the jointly developed Suzuki Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter has obtained Whole Vehicle Type Approval (WVTA) – the first time any fuel cell vehicle has achieved this level of certification. WVTA qualifies the Suzuki Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter design as safe to use on public roads without having to be inspected and tested individually, and brings zero emission motorcycles a step closer to becoming commercially available. “Suzuki Motor Corporation is pleased to announce that the Suzuki Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter has become the world’s first fuel cell vehicle to earn Whole Vehicle Type Approval in the European Union” First exhibited at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show in October 2009, the Suzuki Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter, equipped with the latest version of Intelligent Energy’s unique, air-cooled hydrogen fuel cell system, has been participating in a UK public road testing program run by Intelligent Energy and supported by the UK Government’s Technology Strategy Board. The Suzuki Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter design has now met with specified EU performance standards meaning that the vehicle and its components are approved for production and sale within Europe. “Suzuki Motor Corporation is pleased to announce that the Suzuki Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter has become the world’s first fuel cell vehicle to earn Whole Vehicle Type Approval in the European Union,” explained Mr. O. Suzuki, Chairman and CEO, Suzuki Motor Corporation. “Our aim is to make eco-friendly fuel cell scooters increasingly common in Europe, in line with the establishment of hydrogen filling stations and other necessary infrastructure.” The city-friendly Suzuki Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter was jointly launched in Europe at London’s City Hall in February 2010. At the event, the Chair of the London Hydrogen Partnership and London’s Deputy Mayor for Policing, Kit Malthouse, hailed the zero emission scooter as a “fantastic piece of kit which shows how we can combat climate change.” A fleet of the scooters will now undergo a further test program in various public road conditions at sites in the East Midlands and London. “We’re immensely proud that our five year partnership with Suzuki Motor Corporation has led to the Suzuki Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter becoming the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle to achieve Whole Vehicle Type Approval. This is an important day in the history of fuel cell technology and a huge step towards cleaner, more efficient vehicles being part of the mainstream,” said Dr Henri Winand, CEO, Intelligent Energy. Source:  Suzuki/Intelligent Energy, via Engadget.

Why Doesn’t GM Build a Diet Chevy Volt? Posted: 11 Mar 2011 08:30 AM PST Without a doubt the biggest knock against the Volt isn't its limited electric range or its so-so fuel efficiency, but the $41,000 price tag. Yet GM has the ability to make a much cheaper Volt. So what're they waiting for? GM doesn't make a dime off of every Volt they sell, having invested a large amount of money into the extended-range electric vehicle. While these costs will be spread out as the Voltec technology makes its way into other vehicles, right now the $41,000 Volt ($33,500 with the Federal Tax Credit) simply costs too much money for many people. Much of that cost comes from the large 16 kWh lithium-ion battery pack in the Volt's floorboard, and GM estimates that the cost-per-kWh for the battery is around $500-600 per kWh. That means the battery alone makes up between $8,000 and $10,000 of the Volt's $41,000 price tag. But what if they offered a cheaper Volt with a smaller battery pack? Think of it like a Diet Volt. Obviously the all-electric range would take a hit, but you'd also be shaving off a couple of hundred pounds off of the Volt's curb weight. If I may present a hypothetical case, what if GM offered a cheaper Volt with say, a 8 kWh battery? You could shave $4,000 to $5,000 off of the Volt's MSRP, and now the Volt has a starting price just a couple of grand more than the Nissan Leaf (lets say $36,000.) Apply the Federal Tax Credit of $2,500 plus $417 per kWh after 5 kWh for a total tax credit of about $4,200 and the price is now around $32,000. If you live in California (where 40% of Volts have been sold to-date) you get another $5,000 tax credit, bringing the price down to around $25,000, or just a few grand more than a fully loaded Chevrolet Cruze Eco. Plus you've still got an all-electric range of 12-25 miles (better than the upcoming Prius Plug-In) and after that, a regular hybrid that is still capable of between 33 and 36 mpg. The Volt has suddenly become affordable, practical, and much more economically viable. This is probably what GM should have done in the first place, but its not too late to implement a plan for just such a car. Would $25,000 Chevy Volt with half the EV range be more appealing than the current model? Edited because the Federal Tax Credit is based on battery size; an 8 kWh Volt would only get around $4,200 from the tax credit rather than the maximum amount of $7,500. So a smaller battery might not actually make sense. Source: Hybrid Car Blog Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs. You can read about his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout or follow his non-nonsensical ramblings on Twitter @harshcougar.

Car Crosses Australia on Wind Power Posted: 11 Mar 2011 07:55 AM PST Eighteen days. Fifteen dollars worth of electricity. Oh, and a distance of 3,107 miles. That's the impressive stat line of the Wind Explorer, a 441-pound electric car that traveled from one end of Australia to the other and smashed three world records along the way. As you've likely already guessed, wind power plays a significant role in the staggering fuel efficiency of this vehicle . A cool 1,400 miles of the journey across the smoldering Australian desert were done solely with wind-generated electricity, which is produced by a turbine with a maximum power of 1,000 volts and a range of approximately 124 miles when its 14-cell lithium ion battery is fully charged. The rig also featured a kite – yes, a kite — which on the open plains accounted for another 300 miles of the Wind Explorer's total. Its top speed of 50 mph won't move the needle for the speed demons out there, but you can't have it all, can you? What really excites me about a car like the Wind Explorer is its breathtaking display of human innovation and potential. Sure, kites wouldn't be the most practical way to get around, say, New York City (imagine all the tangle-ups…and talk about road rage!), but the fact that we can achieve this kind of efficiency at all shows that we have only begun to scratch the surface of what is possible with green energy. Just for fun, I calculated what it would cost a standard gasoline-engine car to go the same distance, assuming a respectable 30 miles to the gallon and the depressing $3.55-a-gallon price I begrudgingly flushed away into my car at the Shell station this morning. The total: $367.65. Put another way, that's over twenty-four times the cost of the Wind Explorer's electric energy. When gas hits $4 by this summer (er, way before summer), that's going to look even sweeter. Source: Treehugger | Images: Wind Explorer

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