WASHINGTON, DC, February 4, 2009 (ENS) – The range-extended electric Chevrolet Volt has been named the 2009 Green Car Vision Award winner by the auto magazine “Green Car Journal.” The award was presented at a press conference this morning at the Washington Auto Show.

The show opened to the public today at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and runs through Sunday.

Competition for the Green Car Vision Award was keen, with plug-in hybrid, range extended electric, battery electric, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles all in the running.

“The Chevy Volt offers a bold and far-reaching approach that will bring an exceptionally fuel efficient model to consumers at reasonable cost,” said Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of the “Green Car Journal” and editor of GreenCar.com.

Pre-production model of the Chevy Volt on display (Photo courtesy General Motors)

Unlike traditional electric cars, the Chevy Volt has a propulsion system that uses a lithium-ion battery with a gasoline-powered, range-extending engine that drives a generator to provide electric power when drivers go beyond the 40 mile battery range.

“Besides being a great design, the Volt promises exactly what many consumers are asking for – a car capable of driving on zero emission battery power most of the time at pennies per mile, with over 100 mpg possible on longer journeys when electric power from its range extender engine generator is needed,” said Cogan.

General Motors is hustling to bring the Volt to market next year. Over 200 engineers and 50 designers are working on the Volt and another 400 are working on related subsystems and electric components, says Tony Posawatz, the vehicle line director at General Motors responsible for the Volt.

The Green Car Vision Award recognizes the most important vehicle in an award year that best envisions the road ahead, but is not yet on sale.

It complements Green Car Journal’s Green Car of the Year award, which focuses on new vehicle models that lead the field in environmental performance and are now available at new car showrooms. The 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI was named Green Car of the Year in November, the first time that a clean diesel model has won the title.

The Chevy Volt won the Green Car Vision Award over other innovative models that Cogan says each also promise to share in the future green car market.

Fisker Karma: The brainchild of auto executive and designer Henrik Fisker, the Karma features a plug-in hybrid powertrain by joint venture partner Quantum Technologies. It is launching later this year.

Honda FCX Clarity: The FCX Clarity is a hydrogen fuel cell sedan currently being driven by consumers in an evolving demonstration program.

MINI E: This zero emission vehicle is an electric version of the conventional internal combustion MINI Cooper. About 500 MINI Es now are being leased in three states as a way to gauge the market.

Mitsubishi i-MiEV: The i-MiEV is a battery electric city car based on an internal combustion model already popular in Japan. Examples are being tested in a demonstration program with Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

On Monday, Carol Browner, special assistant to President Barack Obama for energy and climate change, got a personal showing of the Chevy Volt from Ed Welburn, the chief designer for General Motors.

“I found the Volt to be very comfortable – and surprisingly simple,” Browner wrote on the White House blog. “You plug it in and you can get 40 miles on a single charge! Because nearly 80 percent of Americans commute 40 miles or less a day, this car could potentially provide 80 percent of Americans with a zero-emissions option for their commute.”

A former administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the Clinton administration, Browner was welcomed to the show by Auto Alliance CEO Dave McCurdy, who stressed the importance of green technologies and green jobs in the auto industry.

“This kind of innovation and shift in design is key to the renewed success of the American auto industry,” Browner blogged.

“We saw the new Ford Fusion,” she wrote. “This is another example of a technology that will benefit from funding for battery investments in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – the kind of forward thinking that we ought to be encouraging and supporting.”

Passed by the House of Representatives last week, the Obama administration’s multi-billion dollar American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is being debated in the Senate, with a vote expected on Friday.

“The technology is there. And the demand is there,” blogged Browner. “And now, in the face of our dangerous dependence on foreign oil and a faltering economy, there is urgent need to support the industry and nurture this kind of development. That’s why passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is so crucial – because it brings significant resources to develop new and emerging green car technologies as well as tax credits for consumers to purchase new advanced technology vehicles.”

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WASHINGTON, DC, July 18, 2008 (ENS) – It will take massive subsidies from the U.S. government to make hydrogen fuel cell vehicles a significant part of the nation’s transportation future, according to a National Research Council report released Thursday. The study finds that even under a best-case scenario only about two million hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will be on American roads by 2020, less than one percent of the nation’s estimated total number of cars and trucks.

Achieving that goal would require the government to pump at least $55 billion in subsidies over the next 15 years to make hydrogen vehicles cost competitive with conventional cars and trucks, the report concluded. Current government spending has equaled some $879 million since 2004.

But the chair of the committee that wrote the report said the suggested government funding should be put in perspective with other subsidies.

Dr. Mike Ramage (Photo courtesy
Purdue University)

If current funding and policies continue, the federal subsidy for corn-based ethanol over the same time period is on pace to reach $160 billion, said Mike Ramage, a former vice president for research and development at Exxon Mobil and chair of the 17-member panel.

“We need durable, substantial and sustainable government help to make this happen, just as there is for ethanol,” he said.

The 249 page report, which was requested by the U.S. Energy Department, contends that the funding may well be worth it as it could set the stage for accelerated adoption of hydrogen vehicles by mid-century.

The allure of hydrogen fuel cells is their potential to help shift the U.S. transportation sector away from oil and to cut emissions linked to climate change. The only byproduct from a hydrogen fuel cell is water.

The environmental benefits of hydrogen would be “less in the early years but would be dominant” over a longer time period, Ramage told reporters on a telephone briefing.

The committee’s best case scenario envisions that if the technical and economic obstacles are overcome in the next 15 years, the growth of the technology could accelerate dramatically.

The Honda FCX Clarity hydrogen car
is available in California for limited
leasing for the first time this summer.
(Photo courtesy Honda American
Motors)

It suggests the number of hydrogen vehicles on U.S. roads could jump to nearly 60 million in 2035 and to 200 million by 2050.

This shift could reduce the U.S. transportation sector’s oil consumption some 60 to 70 percent by 2050.

But the obstacles blocking the technology are daunting, the committee acknowledged, and overcoming them would require continued technical improvements, cost reductions and government policies and funding to encourage adoption of the hydrogen vehicles.

There is little existing capacity for hydrogen production, which remains expensive, and although major automakers are dabbling with the technology, fuel cells still face challenges of storage, cost, reliability and safety.

And the most significant hurdle could be the high cost and logistical complexity of distributing hydrogen to fueling stations across the nation.

These challenges are why the government would need to spend billions of dollars just to get two million hydrogen cars and trucks on the road by 2020, according to the panel.

The report suggests that government funding be used to purchase hydrogen vehicles to replace about half of the government’s fleet of cars and trucks and to help consumers keen on the technology afford the new vehicles.

The Toyota Fuel Cell Hydrogen Hybrid
Vehicle was introduced in fall
2007. (Photo courtesy Hydrogen
Cars Now)

“It is very important to get those hydrogen vehicles on the road and get real world experience with this,” Ramage said.

The cost issue for consumers is “a much greater challenge” than the industry’s ability to ramp up production, he added.

A sizeable chunk would need to be spent on subsidies for fuel stations, the committee said, to get round the “chicken and egg problem.”

The report notes that companies are reluctant to spend much money on fueling stations until a significant numbers of hydrogen cars have been sold. Similarly, automakers are unlikely to sell many vehicles until an adequate number of fueling stations are available.

“A way around this quandary is to stage hydrogen fuel cell vehicle introduction in phases by region,” the committee said.

The report also estimates about $5 billion in federal funds be spent on research and development and $10 billion be earmarked for hydrogen production.

The committee noted that a key to the environmental benefits of hydrogen cars is how the fuel is produced. Hydrogen produced from coal or other fossil fuels lessens the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

The report suggests policies are needed to promote low-carbon hydrogen production, including carbon capture and storage technology, and assumes advances in coal gasification under its “best-case” scenario.

The Ford Flexible Series Edge is a
plug-in hybrid hydrogen vehicle,
introduced in 2007. (Photo
courtesy Hydrogen Cars Now)

Although the report centered on hydrogen technology, Ramage told reporters that the committee concluded the government should not focus solely on hydrogen fuel cells as the solution to reducing the environmental impact of the nation’s transportation sector.

The greatest possible reductions in oil consumption and greenhouse gas emissions would occur if biofuels, fuel-efficient conventional vehicles and hydrogen vehicles are all pursued simultaneously, he explained.

“There are other technologies that fit in this mix that we did not look at,” he added, noting the committee did not consider plug-in hybrids or electric vehicles – technologies that some environmentalists contend offer far more short-term environmental benefits than hydrogen cars.

“This study clearly indicates we don’t think people should be picking winners and losers,” Ramage said. “They probably will all be important in the long run.”

To find the National Research Council report, “Transitions to Alternative Transportation Technologies: A Focus on Hydrogen,” click here [www.nap.edu].

By J.R. Pegg

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SACRAMENTO, California, April 15, 2008 (ENS) – California is seeking experienced and qualified teams to compete for part of $7.7 million that will be spent to construct and improve hydrogen-fueling stations in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas.

The Air Resources Board is dispensing the funds to advance Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Hydrogen Highway initiative that is promoting the creation of a hydrogen refueling network.

Currently, there are 24 hydrogen stations operating in California, with more planned, and there are at least 209 hydrogen powered vehicles operating throughout the state.

Hydrogen fueling station at the University of
California-Irvine’s North Campus
(Photo courtesy Hydrogen Cars Now)

The state is pursuing a transition to clean energy and energy diversity by promoting automobile manufacturers’ and energy companies’ efforts to employ hydrogen as a power source for vehicles and electricity production.

“We are shifting California’s economy to clean energy and hydrogen plays an important role,” said Air Resources Board Chairman Mary Nichols. “We have burgeoning technologies that use hydrogen to power vehicles and in the future could provide electricity for homes.

“The increased use of hydrogen in the transportation sector would diversify California’s energy sources and reduce harmful smog forming and climate changing emissions,” Nichols said.

The new funding follows Air Resources Board’s recent amendments to the Zero Emission Vehicle program, which forces auto manufacturers to place 7,500 zero emission vehicles on the road by 2014.

Some of these will be fuel cell vehicles dependent on readily available sources of hydrogen.

Hydrogen can provide energy with minimal-to-zero pollution. When produced from a clean renewable source – such as water, wind, sun, biomass or biogas – and used in fuel cells, hydrogen use has extremely small impacts on the environment.

Compared to today’s average gasoline-powered vehicle, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles produce 50 percent less greenhouse gases and 40-90 percent less smog-forming and toxic emissions, even when powered by hydrogen produced from natural gas, currently the most common method.

The application deadline for funds is June 13, 2008. For more information and guidelines for applying go here [www.cscr.dgs.ca.gov] and in the agency option select Air Resources Board.

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TOPEKA, Kansas, January 10, 2008 (ENS) – An experimental hydrogen fuel cell switch locomotive is under development by two cooperating companies – BNSF Railway and Vehicle Projects. Field testing is scheduled to start later this year.

The fuel cell locomotive has the potential to reduce air pollution, is not dependent on oil for fuel, and could serve as a mobile backup power source for military and civilian disaster relief efforts.

“At BNSF, we believe that it is good business to minimize our impact on the planet and contribute to the long-term sustainability of the communities we serve,” said Craig Hill, vice president, BNSF Mechanical and Value Engineering.

“While it’s not a proven technology and the project is still in its infancy, we believe investments like the fuel cell switch locomotive are important for the advancement of new technology,” he said.

“As a nation, two widely-accepted issues are global climate change and energy insecurity, which have a common factor – oil,” said Arnold Miller, president, Vehicle Projects.

“The world burns millions of barrels of oil for energy, and the waste carbon is then emitted to the atmosphere. Because they don’t rely on oil as a fuel source, fuel cells solve these two issues. Along with our principal partners, BNSF and the U.S. Army, we at Vehicle Projects are developing proof-of-concept hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that are leading the way to this new technology,” Miller said.

Senator Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican, said, “I’m pleased to have been working for the past two years to procure funding for the fuel cell locomotive. The progress that BNSF and Vehicle Projects are making in its development is remarkable, and their work is helping to wean America off foreign oil.”

A subsidiary of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation, BNSF Railway operates one of the largest North American rail networks, with about 32,000 route miles in 28 states and two Canadian provinces.

Rail is the most fuel efficient mode of surface transportation, moving a ton of freight more than 400 miles on a single gallon of diesel fuel, the railway company said in a statement, adding that each BNSF intermodal train on the rails can take more than 300 long-haul trucks off the highways.

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OVIEDO, Florida, December 7, 2007 (ENS) – Florida’s second hydrogen vehicle fueling station was opened with a ceremony today in the city of Oviedo, about 10 miles northeast of Orlando, where the state’s first hydrogen station opened in May.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection, DEP, Secretary Michael Sole joined executives from Ford Motor Company, BP America, Inc., Progress Energy Florida and the United States Department of Energy to officially open the new fueling station.

“By using state-of-the-art technology we are demonstrating the power of alternative energy in Florida’s future,” said Sole.

The hydrogen demonstration project is part of an initiative unveiled in 2004 by the U.S. Department of Energy. That same year BP and Ford selected the Sunshine State as one of three sites in the nation to demonstrate pollution free hydrogen fuel cell cars.
Hydrogen fueling station at Oviedo, Florida (Photo courtesy Florida DEP)

Ford supplied the Florida DEP and Progress Energy Florida with six hydrogen powered Ford Focus fuel cell vehicles through a federal government project.

One of the hydrogen-powered Fords gives DEP park rangers a pollution-free ride during everyday operations at Wekiwa Springs State Park, which attracts nearly 185,000 visitors annually to its freshwater springs. The 8,000-acre park protects the headwaters of the Wekiva River.

Two more fuel cell vehicles are used by DEP’s Central Regulatory District for field inspections.

Progress Energy Florida’s energy efficiency specialists and customer account managers are using the other three hydrogen cars at their Jamestown Operations Center.

BP America supplies the cars with hydrogen fuel through a grant from the state of Florida.

“BP is committed to developing cleaner fuels,” said Maria Curry-Nkansah, BP’s hydrogen business development manager. “With this station, we will continue our work to gain real-world experience in hydrogen fueling infrastructure and help build public awareness of this developing technology.”

“This program is an example of how government, energy companies and the auto industry are working collaboratively to assess the potential of hydrogen as an alternative fuel,” she said.

Hydrogen can power cars by replacing gasoline in an internal combustion engine or as a source of power for a fuel cell. A fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, which powers the car and emits only steam.

“The opening of this second station under the Ford-DOE Controlled Hydrogen Fleet and Infrastructure Demonstration and Validation Project represents another step forward for hydrogen as an alternative fuel,” said Sheral Arbuckle with Ford’s Research and Advanced Engineering Department.

“We have made much progress in hydrogen propulsion over the past 15 years and are pleased that our energy partner, BP, has continued their efforts in supporting this project with the much needed infrastructure to fuel our vehicle fleet,” she said.

In May, Governor Charlie Crist opened the state’s first hydrogen energy demonstration station in Orlando. The station fuels hydrogen-powered shuttle buses and provides a test platform for showcasing the production, storage and dispensing of hydrogen fuel.

Partners in that fueling station are Ford Motor Company, Chevron Technology Ventures and Progress Energy Florida.

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When Independence Day rolls around each year, it’s only natural for us TreeHuggers to think about the different things that can mean. While it’s a nice excuse to meet up with family and friends, have a barbeque and maybe shoot off some fireworks, one of the first things that comes to our green-loving minds is independence from traditional (oil-based) sources of energy. By some accounts, energy independence is becoming a national imperative [www.treehugger.com]; here are some examples of some of the ways that locales around the country are beginning to celebrate (and could potential use in future celebrations of) their own energy independence.

1) Hawaii is moving toward energy independence [www.treehugger.com], doubling up on energy independence efforts: they received funding to explore a sugar-to-ethanol project, to (hopefully) put to use some of their vast sugar cane crop and keep the fuel production local, and has plans to build a 40 megawatt wind farm on Maui, which would provide enough clean energy to power thousands of homes on the island.
2) In Minnesota, the Corn Plus ethanol plant in Winnebago [www.treehugger.com] added wind turbines to its facility earlier this year, moving closer to its ultimate goal of using no outside energy in the processing plant, providing about 4.2 megawatts, or about 45 percent of the plant’s electricity.
3) At the national governmental level, the House of Representative’s new select committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming is holding hearings on employment in the green economy [www.treehugger.com], hoping that green energy jobs will lead to both more green energy and more money for companies on the independence bandwagon.
4) Further, the US Department of Energy has three possible scenarios [www.treehugger.com] for the introduction and widespread use of fuel-cell vehicles, adding up to anywhere from 2 million to 10 million cars on the road by 2025.
5) These developments are not lost on institutions of higher education; four schools in the University of Wisconsin system [www.treehugger.com] announced a plan to achieve energy independence within five years. Under a pilot program, UW-Green Bay, UW-Oshkosh, UW-River Falls, and UW-Stevens Point will rely on a variety of potential renewable energy sources including: solar, wind, fuel cells, renewable fuels, and biomass, as well as implementing an aggressive conservation strategy to lower energy demand.
6) In one of the more striking examples of the future of energy independence, windy but oil-rich Texas has surpassed California [www.treehugger.com] in wind power production, making the it largest producer of the renewable energy in the country.
7) Looking down the road, Eprida (that’s Earth, People, Research, Innovation, Development, Acknowledgement) offers a revolutionary new sustainable energy technology [www.treehugger.com] that could potentially help solve several of the world’s energy crises simultaneously. Their closed-loop system removes CO2 from the air by putting carbon into the topsoil where it is needed to nurture and keep it fertile. The process creates hydrogen rich bio-fuels and a restorative high-carbon fertilizer while removing net carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Confused? Check out a snapshot below

These are all meaningful developments, but all exist on a large scale, and can be a little difficult to contextualize on a micro level. Stay tuned for more ideas that can help you achieve energy independence on a smaller scale, as a family or individual.

Though TreeHugger tends to prefer things like walking and electric bicycles [www.sundancechannel.com] to car-centric transportation, automobiles are a way of life for many of us. While burning gasoline and creating emissions are not a good thing for the planet, thankfully, there are some forward-looking automakers and cars that are testing prototypes that have the potential to change our collective driving from dirty and polluting to clean and green.

Technologies like plug-in hybrids, diesel-electric hybrids, all electric cars and fuel cell-powered vehicles have turned a lot of heads to this point, and for good reason; they represent a future in which petroleum-based fuels are no longer viable and car powerplants produce little or zero emissions.

Here are some of TreeHugger’s favorites:

[*]The one making the biggest splash during the past year or so is the Tesla Roadster [www.treehugger.com] (top image, left), the all electric convertible two-seater that’ll do 0-60 in about four seconds, gets 250 miles per charge, and costs about one penny per mile to operate — that’s the equivalent of 135 miles per gallon! Perhaps the best news is that the first ones will hit the road later this year.
[*] Honda’s FCX fuel cell vehicle [www.treehugger.com] (top, center) has been making headlines and turning heads for awhile, but word on the street is that it’ll go into production in two-three years.
[*] Not to be outdone, General Motors will lease 100 fuel cell vehicles [www.treehugger.com] to lucky customers this year, to get the technology some practical, real-world experience.
[*] Earlier this year, Chevy introduced the prototype for the Volt [www.treehugger.com] (top, right), a plug-in hybrid with an all-electric range of 40 miles and the option to switch out the gasoline-driven generator engine for an engine that runs on E85, diesel, bio-diesel, pure ethanol or even a hydrogen fuel cell; this gives buyers the choice of different engines based on fuel availability and prices in their region.
[*] The XR3 hybrid [www.treehugger.com] (above, left) is a three-wheeled diesel/electric hybrid “motorcycle” that will supposedly get 125 mpg, top out at 85 mph and be available in just a few months [www.treehugger.com].
[*] Similarly, the Aptera [www.treehugger.com] prototype (above, right) was recently unveiled [www.treehugger.com] with drool-inducing performance numbers, including fuel efficiency of 230 miles per gallon while humming along at 55 miles per hour. Of course, biodiesel [www.sundancechannel.com] is the way to go when it comes to these diesel-powered beauties.

TreeHugger is fond of saying that “the future is green.” As long as we see some of these rides on the roads before too long, there’s no limit to how green the future will be.