Alternative Car Fuels UK

Recent press releases have detailed that you can try the Audi e-Tron on a virtual drive through your Play Station. Before you do that, let us give you some info about the Audi electric supercar that impressed the crowd during the Frankfurt Auto Show in Germany.

The e-Tron from Audi features technologies that might be pointing to the direction of how electronic vehicles must be in the future. The e-Tron is based on the platform of the R8 supercar and includes four electric motors connected independently to each of the wheels of the vehicle. It truly lives up to the Quattro tag just like the other range in the Audi fleet.

The output of the motor is just 313 horsepower but has an astounding torque of 3,319 lb-ft. It can zoom from 0 to 62mph in just 4.8 seconds and blast from 37 to 75 mph in a blink of 4.1 seconds.

The car depends on a 53 kWh lithium-ion battery pack for its power. Like in other EVs the battery makes up a big bulk of the weight at 1,036 lbs. Audi managed to keep the weight of the e-Tron to just about 3,527 lbs.

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Selling a car is not a piece of cake. It is not as easy as stepping on the pedal and zoom from 0 to 100. Even for Ford, marketing their upcoming electric vehicles can be a daunting challenge. An excellent advertising campaign, press releases, and other marketing magical formula are needed for the sales figures to hit their target.

Next year, Ford is planning to release the 2011 Focus EV but the team handling the marketing is having a tough time coming up with a great campaign. They are dealing with a different kind of market since there is the range anxiety that is needed to be dealt with properly when they push for their EVs. Its not that the marketing team don’t have enough juices flowing but they really have to work hard to success.

The car maker has also conducted several studies to know how EV buyers think and react to EVs in general. An interesting fact is that most drivers don’t exceed a 70 mile reading on a daily basis. The Ford Focus will not have a problem meeting that needed mileage but the company needs to assure buyers that the batteries will not run out while they are in the middle of nowhere, or anywhere to be more accurate.

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After the LRX concept caught the eyes and got great reviews as it toured the different motor shows, we are getting a confirmation that a hybrid variant of the LRX will go into production. The standard LRX got the go for retail last March.

The government of UK disclosed in March that they will be giving a $44 million grant to Land Rover for the assembly of the new vehicle. The production version of the LRX will make use of the Land-e Concept’s engine that can run on petrol and electricity.

The Hybrid LRX can bring occupants from point A to B using different modes like the usual petrol only, electric only, and the hybrid type. The project is looking an estimated expense of about $650 million and will take about two more years to release the hybrid system for the market to use.

Land Rover confirmed that the LRX will carry the Range Rover tag. The company is also looking into producing more fuel efficient fleet and the hybrid will be an essential member of the line up.

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Vanner Incorporated recently announced that they will be using BOOSTCAP ultracapacitor modules produced by Maxwell Technologies. The leading company of electric power conversion systems said that the Maxwell product will be used to surge power to its engine starter system contracted to be used in the modification of Chicago transit buses.

Tescate Industries, Maxwell’s partner, will be providing Vanner Inc. with 460 of Maxwell’s 16-volt BMOD0500 modules. The saud modules are designed to give the power that Vanner’s starter system needed.

The modification of the Chicago Buses was approved early this year. The $1.3 million contract entitles Vanner to purchase and install the company’s StartSentry system into buses handled by the Chicago Transit Authority or CTA. Sources say that 460 CTA buses will undergo the said modification.

The project is a response to the operation difficulties that CTA often encounters during the winter season. Due to the freezing temperature in the cold months, CTA’s bus batteries loose needed voltage. The lost power forces CTA to use an external jump start to start the vehicles. The buses’ engine myst also be left running for an hour before hitting the roads.

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A performance test of the Proterra electric bus was conducted recently by the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute. During the three runs done, the people mover had the best result of 29.23 MPGe and the worst at 17.55 MPGe.

The FCBE 35 from Proterra is powered by the UQM PowerPhase 150 engine. The engine produces a maximum power of 201 horsepower and continuous power rating of 134 hp. Other major features of the vehicle include regenerative braking, voltage and speed control, and optimal four quadrant performance.

The test simulated the duty cycle of the transport bus which traversed the make shift business district and the major transportation arteries. On the central business district phase, the diesel equivalency of the electric bus was marked at 21.35 mpg. The arterial phase returned a reading of 17.55 mpg while the commuter phase had a remarkable 29.23 mpg.

Each stage of the test simulated a central business district run with 7 stops on average per mile cruising on a top speed of 20 mph. The commuter phase had 1 stop with a top speed of 40 mph.

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The small British town of Hudderland was the focus of electric car technology in the UK as it fielded what could be the world’s first garbage truck collector running on fuel from trash.

The leccy vehicle is actually a modified 3.5 ton Smith Edison Ford Transit that has been handling trash collection for the municipality. The van can be completely charged in eight hours and can run for about 100 miles.

The electric van, running on 40 kWh lithium ion batteries, collects rubbish from around 25 split bins located in central Huddersfield. The garbage van has a top speed of 50 mph.

EIW’s or Energy from Waste Stations has been installed by the community to power up this vehicle. The EIWs convert trash into energy by burning and converting it to electricity. The stations can provide the energy needed by the van to go its route the following day.

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The UK Government will expend £250 million (US$354 million) on its campaign to push for ultra-low carbon vehicles. This announcement was made by Geoff Hoon, Transport Secretary, along with the news that the UK government has granted its approval for the Heathrow Airport’s third runway, which has been a long-standing issue in United Kingdom.

The £250 million budget is allotted the development of infrastructures and the incentives for consumers, side to side with an on-going £100 million program for extensive study, exhibitions, and development. According to Hoon, the £250 million fund will help motivate the consumers to switch to ultra-low emissions cars and back up the steps taken for the development of the needed infrastructures.

“Transport is the lifeblood of Britain’s economy,” said Secretary Hoon. “In spite of record levels of investment over the last decade, increasing demand means that in many places our transport infrastructure is operating at, or very near, capacity. It is essential we take the right decisions now: for the economy, to drive down greenhouse gas emissions by 2050; and to support British jobs.”

Upon the government’s confirmation of the third Heathrow runway [and the refusal of a mixed mode—using the on-going runaways for arrivals and take-offs] and extra terminal amenities, Hoon added that he expects the airport operators to provide a blueprint for the planned project to meet the completion period allotted and to avoid delays. To meet environmental limitations, Hoon said that very strict air and noise quality conditions are to be followed.

From the Goethe University of Frankfurt, Professor Eckhard Boles and his team have modified, genetically, the Saccharomyces cerevisiaeyeast to be able to produce a newly formed enzyme that can make fermentation of xylose (a 5 chained sugar) as well as the 6-carbon sugar (like glucose). The research and evaluation are included on their journal Applied Environmental Microbiology.

When treated, cellulosic biomass can actually produce a mixture of pentose (5 chained carbon) and hexose (6 chained carbon) sugars, as well as glucose, galactose, D-xylose, mannose and L-arabinose. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is typical industrial yeast that offers high production, fast sugar consumption and ethanol tolerance. The only problem is, it cannot ferment pentose sugars.

The lack of helpful microorganisms that can convert the hexoses and pentoses effectively to ethanol is a major hindrance to the cost-efficient production of cellulosic ethanol through the process of fermentation.

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“Hoping to conquer an untapped market, Lexus follows through a recent research that reveals 60 percent of novice luxury car buyers would purchase a hybrid. There were rumors that the Lexus hybrid will undoubtedly be founded on the Prius, but Lexus spokesman Greg Thome said that the HS 250h more likely connects to the Toyota Avensis that is being sold in Europe.”

This is what Lexus Car Talk says about this somewhat boring-looking, yet very exciting first dedicated Hybrid by Lexus called the Hybrid Lexus HS 250h.

I’m test-driving one asap!

BYD Company from China is open to licensing terms for their ferrous-iron batteries as other car makers from the United States, Europe, and Asia show their interest.

The BYD Group is just considering their available resources for any possible tie ups with other car makers. BYD Auto utilized their expertise to come up with electric vehicles aiming to compete with the production of General Motors and Toyota’s plug-in vehicle hybrids.

The company came to the spotlight after the September endorsement of billionaire Warren Buffett. The company of Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. through MidAmerican Energy bought a 10% share of BYD worth $230 million.

The BYD is developing F60M which is a plug-in hybrid car due for release in Europe and the United States in 2011. The initial sales of these vehicles are targeting fleet services for the government, corporations, or utility companies.

BYD came up with the Dual Mode F3 and closed a deal with the China Construction Bank and the Shenzen local government for 50 units. The Dual Mode is also known as the F3DM which is designed with a gasoline engine to serve as back up.

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