Plug-in electric vehicles are in the first phase of their road tests and are about to hit the roads by 2010. In this scenario, debates were on at the Rocky Mountain Institute’s Smart Garage Workshop on its first day on the subject whether it would be wiser to use the much advantageous and eco-friendly V2G PHEVs to power the grid. A wide range of opinions have been expressed on this. While the participants of the workshop support the suggestion, it sure looks like a possibility that is a decade away.

Mujeeb Ijaz, Director of Automotive Applications engineering at A123 Systems says that the V2G plug-in hybrids will attract customers because of their ability to store and discharge power and help them reduce their electricity bills, and the batteries wouldn’t reduce the performance on being used daily. Further, he agrees that the battery’s chemistry wouldn’t support it for fast charging and hence makes them unavailable for long distance travel.

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Imagine you making an effort and 70% of the energy getting wasted. That’s the plight of your engine which blows about 70 percent of the energy it creates straight out of the tailpipe in the form of heat. As Eric Mattessich realized the truth, he marched on the journey to make power plants more efficient to work on hybrid cars by adapting the kind of heat-recapturing mechanisms. Though not an absolute innovation, Eric’s design is certainly a better packaged one as the size has been worked upon.

The mechanism uses two turbine generators; in the first, the pressure of escaping exhaust spins the turbine to generate electricity. The second uses waste heat from the exhaust to turn water into steam; the steam powers the generator before traveling into a condenser, where it turns back into water and starts the loop again. Both turbines feed electricity back into the hybrid system’s batteries for a 20 percent reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions and a 20 percent more efficient vehicle.

In the pipeline, Mattessich is working on a prototype and applying for a patent. With this he is also looking for an automaker interested in testing by incorporating the system into new cars thereby realizing the efforts put-in in working on the noble cause.

Via inventorspot

From being fuel based to natural gas, to electric hybrid, electric, and now a great possibility of a fueless cars running on air, technology seems to have come a long way. The Magnetic Air Cars, Inc., the San Jose-based company claims that it is working on the world’s first fuel-less car using no gas, fuel, or external recharging device, only air to propel the vehicle. Utilizing three on-board substations to harness compressed air, the resultant airflow is channeled, modulated, and converted to torque that propels the car. The Magnetic Air Car uses compressed air technology for propulsion, but unlike Tata Motors air engine, or DiPietro, theirs uses a different design.

Standing lofty in the San Jose’s West Coast Green conference last week, the car is one of a kind and is supposed to be produced by 2010. Using a silicon salt battery having 30% more mass power than a lead acid storage battery, it can completely charge in one hour. The battery is also environmentally friendly: it’s 95% recyclable, and it can be used in almost extreme conditions: from -40 to +50 degrees Celsius.
A prototype of the car is being built at Club Auto Sport in San Jose. So for all you lovers of innovation, grab this one and go green!!
Via Cleantechnica

Israel celebrated its very own ‘Public Transportation Day’ on September, 23rd. An event that saw a professional conference being organised by the local green groups, plus a 6km drag race in Tel Aviv between different modes of transportation. The race was symbolic because Israel’s transportation has been bogged down by the increasing traffic and air pollution. The promised subways are just being built extremely slowly.
On the other hand, the rail system is witnessing a lot of delays and cost overruns. So, it was time the public decided for itself, which is the best mode of conveyance. The bright Tuesday morning, saw a race between a bus, which only travelled in its designated lane, a bicycle and a car. The three vehicles started out from the outskirts of Tel Aviv going towards the central train station.

The bike won and people saw how it was the best, quickest as well as green way to get to one’s destination. The bus came second while the car took the longest time struggling in the endless traffic.

Via treehugger

Saab, the company with a reputation for safe and reliable automobiles, with a notable competition history is all set to unveil its new 9-X Air BioHybrid concept in October at the 2008 Paris auto show. Celebrating 25 years of convertibles, the 9-X Air BioHybrid is a step ahead of the 9-X BioHybrid Concept hatchback unwrapped last March at the Geneva Motor Show, in the development of an all-new Saab 9-1 to expand the lineup.
The car is billed as a design study, with a unique canopy top, wraparound windows, and a driver-centric cockpit. The gauges appear frozen in ice replacing the original concept’s closed roof with a flat-folding canopy top. The 9-X Air is a four-seater, two-door convertible styled and uses powertrain, a turbocharged 1.4-liter that runs on E85 bioethanol fuel, and it is coupled with hybrid technology producing 197bhp. It is a mild hybrid system, saving fuel with its start/stop capability, but cannot propel the vehicle on electricity alone. The mild hybrid system is expected to be on the market in GM vehicles in 2010 as the next generation of the system in such cars as the Saturn Vue and Chevrolet Malibu hybrids.

Not only this!! With more cars to be launched in near future, the brand is essentially seeing a real overhaul over the next 14 to 18 months as indicates Mr. Mark McNabb, GM’s North America & vice president in charge of the premium channel.

Via flylyf

Concept cars are always trying to out-do one another with fancy new concepts that seem to hover on the borderline of reality and impossibility. It is knowing which side of that line to be on, that makes them either good or forgettable. It seems that Peugeot Loop has got it right with its design and concept. Here is one car of the future with eco-friendly approach towards the future. The car is designed by Abhinav Dapke and it is filled with a perfect blend of technology and green features.

The Loop has the windshield extending as the roof and while that design is common with modern cars, it is the fact that it sports solar panels that sets it apart. The roof of the car has photovoltaic plates that harness solar power to usher the car forward. It also creates an interesting visual pattern. The primary energy source is a rechargeable lithium battery located at the rear of the vehicle. Materials proposed for the vehicle are also eco-friendly.

Semi-circular bags are located along this gangway. They come with customized options for storage, entertainment, interaction, etc, providing the user with greater flexibility and ease of use. An embedded camera also adds to the experience but all this could be too much and could distract from the actual driving. In style, design and eco-friendly features, the Loop wins you over.

Via: Yankodesign

Water is indeed inspirational and one trip to the beach will surely inspire you to follow the waves. While Mazda have tried to emulate the wind and sand in car designs earlier, their attempt at giving solid shape to water seems to have come off much better. The Kiyora Concept of Mazda is a futuristic car that is inspired by water and one look at the car clears any further doubts on that. The ?flowing? design of the car along with the pattern on the glass are mesmerizing, to say the least.

Kiyora?s aerodynamic Nagare design and next-generation four-cylinder direct-injection engine contribute to excellent fuel economy and low CO2 emissions. The new Mazda Kiyora concept car is based on an all-new platform designed to minimize weight and maximize safety and driving pleasure. It also features an interior design and new functions that support a youthful lifestyle. It seems that this clean car from Mazda with better efficiency and cleaner exhaust will really steal the show when the Paris Motor Show Kicks off. Let’s wait and watch!

Via: Tuvie

With soaring crude oil prices it seems that more and more people are inevitably turning towards alternate fuel. This is more or less an expected phenomenon and the green products industry is cashing in on the trend big time. More gadgets and chargers are coming out each day which either use solar power or wind energy. With automobile industry embracing changes both rapidly and effectively, we are hopefully heading towards clean and emission-free roads.

Following that trend is the new Solar Battery Charger from Coleman. The Coleman Solar Battery Charger rests on the dashboard or any part of the car where it can harness solar energy and trickle charge into the battery. Just leave it where there’s visible light and let it do the trick on your hibernating vehicle. The Coleman Solar Battery Charger is currently priced at $29.95.

The best part of this is that you can just park your car and by the time you are ready to go back home from work, you have completely replenished battery! This truly is a wonderful little gadget that should get popular pretty fast.

Via Goodcleantech

Germany is a country that has vividly stamped a class of its own in the international arena with what the world considers as the unending quest for perfection. Germans are known to be hard taskmasters who strive for that final millisecond and that last millimeter of perfect design, form and function. It is something that comes up with German athletes, German technology and of course the ever green German beer. From that perfect lap of magic by Michael Schumacher to the precision of the Mercedes- it is all about power with grace and accuracy.

But Germany has been a land that has been changing away from the technology to the green technology which saves both on oil and emissions. The home of the Mercedes, BMW (even though British) and Volkswagen is moving from oil-guzzling technology to windmills, green gadgets and electric vehicles. Germany is already the single largest producer and market for Solar Energy in the world.

To add to that Germany has recently taken to wind energy and now 7% of the country’s total power is produced by windmills and driven by those gusty flutters of the blade. It seems that the Germans are driven to even eek out perfection out of the renewable energy sources and that once again is a welcome sight.

Via Eco-Chick

Nissan Mori is both a unique and an inspirational green concept that is more of a concept than a ‘Nissan’. While Nissan themselves have nothing two with making an electric bike that looks like it has fallen in to the real world from Looney Toon Land, it is what an imaginative designer feels Nissan must be making. (Now, you can see why the big boys do not let anyone and everyone design their stuff). A designer by the name of Shane Crozier has gone ahead and imagined what a scooter by Nissan that was inspired by a chest of drawers would look like.

Nissan Mori is a product of that inspiration and irrespective of what anyone think, we feel that it is really cool in a cute sorts of way. The Mori is all about eco-commuting in a big modern city and it serves its purpose pretty well. But it looks more suited for transportation in malls or in airports. While super-sleek city road might not need a mud guard, this still could do with one. Yet what attracts you is the green concept of an electric powered simple scooter that occupies very little space.

While it is unlikely that Nissan will turn to younger audience who intend to travel across the city in a cool new way with something like Mori, it is a fairly interesting idea that might yield something substantial in future in terms of green commuting.

Via Autobloggreen