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Earth News

July 04, 2009

July 03, 2009

  • SIP: Two Buck Chuck maker sets sights on Australia

    First there was Two Buck Chuck. Now, there's Three Dolla Koala. Fred Franzia , the vintner who shook up the California wine world seven years ago with Charles Shaw wines - nicknamed Two Buck Chuck because they sell for $1.99 in some states - has come up with Down Under, a chardonnay made of imported Australian bulk wine and priced at around $2.99 ...

    - about 8 hours
    source: (Environmental News)
  • Govt plans green tribunal to hear environment cases (The Times of India)
    In a move to reduce the burden on judiciary as well as address the increasing number of environment-related litigation, the govt has proposed to set up a National Green Tribunal along with benches in different regions. - about 9 hours
    source: (Yahoo! News Search Results for environment)
  • Environmental group WWF urges G8 to make climate pledge

    <img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20090703/capt.photo_1246651977617-1-0.jpg?x=98&y=130&q=85&sig=vpX7GFVbqO8XjvdXogKqoQ--" align="left" height="130" width="98" alt="The environmental group WWF, urged the Group of Eight industrialised nations to show global leadership by making a commitment to keep climate change in check at their summit next week. Echoing a call by German Chancellor Angela Merkel a day earlier, the WWF said the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, must commit to keeping the rise in global average temperature "well below" two degrees Celsius.(WWF)" border="0" />AFP - The environmental group WWF on Friday urged the Group of Eight industrialised nations to show global leadership by making a commitment to keep climate change in check at their summit next week.


    - about 9 hours
    source: (Yahoo! Green News)
  • SAIC Motor to Invest US$1.76B Over 3-5 Years for New Energy Vehicles

    Shanghai Daily. SAIC Motor, China’s largest automaker, plans to invest 12 billion yuan (US$1.76 billion) in the next three to five years to develop new-energy vehicles.

    The investment will divvied up between 41 projects under its blueprint for environmentally friendly vehicles and SAIC plans to pour 2.1 billion yuan [US$307 million] into commercializing these cars this year, it said.

    At an event in May, SAIC outlined short-term objectives for the introduction of new energy vehicles:

    • 2010 launch of Roewe 750 mild hybrid sedan with a boost in fuel economy of about 20%
    • Proving nearly 1,000 units of new energy vehicles (all electric, ultracapacitor, fuel cell and hybrid) for the World Expo 2010 Shanghai
    • 2012 launch of plug-in hybrid version of the Roewe 550 mid-class sedan with up to a 50% reduction in fuel consumption
    • 2012 introduction of SAIC self-developed electric vehicles
    - about 10 hours
    source: (Green Car Congress)
  • European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Technology Initiative Launches €140M Call for Proposals

    The European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen (FCH) Joint Technology Initiative (JTI) has issued a second call for proposals for research. Around €140 million (US$196 million) has been allocated to this second call, with €71.3 million by the Commission matched by in-kind contributions of the industrial partners. The FCH JTI, an EU-wide collaborative private-public partnership, has a total budget amounts around €1 billion (US$1.4 billion) to be invested in hydrogen and fuel cell research and development by 2014. (Earlier post.)

    The 29 project topics in the second call aim to put fuel cell and hydrogen energy technologies on the market two to five years sooner than what is estimated without the support the JTI offers. Selected teams of researchers will investigate bottlenecks in the whole range of applications for these energy technologies, from cars to large scale power plants, as well as the whole supply chain from hydrogen production to demonstration of the market-readiness of applications.

    Research supported by the call should foster the use of hydrogen-fueled buses and fuel cell vehicles. It is intended to help develop hydrogen storage and improve fuel cell durability, performance and the cost-efficiency to make applications such as power stations or laptops ready for the market.

    The funding in the second call is allocated to five specific areas:

    • Transportation & Refuelling Infrastructure (€26.4 million of FCH JTI funding). This includes projects such as: large-scale demonstration of road vehicles and refuelling infrastructure; development of electric driven turbocharger for fuel cells (air supply systems) to further improve system performance, efficiency and robustness; development and optimization of PEM fuel cell electrodes and gas diffusion layers (GDLs) with the overall aim of producing produce MEAs (membrane electrode assemblies) with significant specific cost reduction (i.e. cost/power); cryogenic hydrogen storage; pre-normative research (PNR) on composite storage; and pre-normative research (PNR) on fuel quality.

    • Hydrogen Production & Distribution (€5.7 million). This includes projects on: development of fuel processing catalyst, modules & systems; development of gas purification technologies for hydrogen production; new generation of high temperature electrolyzer; and improved solid state hydrogen storage systems.

    • Stationary Power Generation & CHP (€25.9 million). This includes projects on: fundamentals of fuel cell degradation for stationary power application; materials development for cells, stacks and balance of plant (BoP); operation diagnostics and control for stationary application; component improvement for stationary power applications; proof-of-concept fuel cell systems; validation of integrated fuel cell systems readiness; build and field demonstration of stationary fuel cell systems; and application specific targets for stationary power generation and related technology benchmarks.

    • Early Markets (€10.3 million). This includes projects on: demonstration of fuel cell powered materials handling vehicles and infrastructure; portable generators, backup and UPS power systems; demonstration of portable and micro fuel cells for various applications; miniaturized balance of plant components; PNR & RCS (Regulations & Codes and Standards) on the indoor use of fuel cells; and early demand stimulation schemes.

    • Cross-cutting Issues (€3.0 million). This includes projects on: development of educational programs; training initiatives for regulators; outreach programs; development of a framework for Technology Monitoring and Assessments (TMA); and development of a framework for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

    The application deadline for the call is 15 October 2009 and projects selected for contract negotiations will be announced in March 2010.

    The Fuel Cells and Hydrogen JTI was launched on 14 October 2008. Its main goal is to speed up the development of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies in Europe to enable their commercialization between 2010 and 2020. Current membership includes the European Commission and 64 companies, from multinationals to small and medium enterprises, represented by the European Industry Grouping for the FCH JTI (NEW IG), as well as 54 universities and research institutes, represented by the Research Grouping N.ERGHY, engaging more than 2,000 researchers in the field of fuel cells and hydrogen.

    Resources

    - about 11 hours
    source: (Green Car Congress)
  • Climate body to try to bridge differences before G8
    ROME (Reuters) - Officials from a 17-member body which account for the lions share of the world's carbon emissions will hold urgent talks next Tuesday to iron out differences on the eve of a July 8-10 summit of the G8.
    - about 11 hours
    source: ( Reuters: Environment)
  • Boxer Braces for Challenge from Carly Fiorina
    The California senator is up for re-election to a fourth term in 2010. - about 12 hours
    source: (U.S. News)
  • Cyclone Power Improves Performance And Durability of Waste Heat Engine

    Cyclone Power Technologies has achieved positive results from performance tests recently conducted on its Waste Heat Engine (WHE) (earlier post), and expects the final stage of testing prior to on-site beta installation to begin in July.

    The WHE is a self-starting steam engine capable of producing up to 18 hp (10 kW of electricity) from low to medium-temperature waste heat sources. Cyclone is targeting WHE systems for applications such as small-scale cogeneration, solar thermal electricity production, biomass combustion, and engines for auxiliary power units for trucks and RVs.

    The WHE is derivative of Cyclone’s external combustion Green Revolution Engine. (Earlier post.) Unlike its more powerful counterpart, the WHE operates in a low-pressure, low-temperature range using waste heat as low as 225 °F (107 °C) and pressure as low as 25 psi (172 kPa). By contrast, the GRE employs super-critical pressure (3,200 psi, 22 MPa) and super-heated steam (1,200 °F, 649 °C).

    The tests involved running the WHE on heat generated from a simulated industrial furnace. The company recently modified certain design elements and materials of the WHE in an effort to reduce heat conductivity losses and engine wear. The company also improved the design of the heat exchanger to generate higher steam temperatures and pressures.

    The net results of these improvements, as demonstrated by the performance testing, is expected to be an engine that operates at a broader range of temperatures, achieves higher overall efficiencies and has greater lifetime durability.

    Waste Heat Engine power generation tests using the exhaust heat of a small industrial furnace.
    - about 13 hours
    source: (Green Car Congress)
  • CBS's Bob Schieffer Opens His Home to Russian Student
    The Face the Nation host is a mentor for a student touched by the Chechen school massacre. - about 13 hours
    source: (U.S. News)
  • Japan Post Deploying 40 EVs This Fiscal Year

    Japan Post Service Co. will deploy 40 electric vehicles this fiscal year, with the first units in operation later this month.

    Japanpost
    The i-MiEV and Plug-in Stella. Click to enlarge.

    The company is signing five-year leases for 20 units apiece of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV and the Subaru Plug-In Stella. The EVs will mainly be in use in its branches in Kanagawa Prefecture, where there is a recharging infrastructure.

    Japan Post Services is also testing custom-built electric vehicles for mail pickup, and will also test the plug-in Prius from Toyota at the end of the year.

    - about 14 hours
    source: (Green Car Congress)
  • GE to Create Center of Excellence in Europe for Automated Manufacturing of Carbon Composites

    GE Global Research, the technology development arm of the General Electric Company, and the Technical University of Munich (TUM), signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a world-class carbon composites manufacturing Center of Excellence on the TUM campus in Garching, near Munich, Germany. The Center of Excellence will focus on automated manufacturing of complex composite structures for use in wind turbines, jet engines, and deep sea oil & gas applications.

    Automated manufacturing of carbon composites addresses the key challenges in industrialization by reducing cost, improving quality, and increasing the rate and speed of production. This technology is intended to provide a significant improvement over today’s carbon composite manufacturing processes and is to enable a new suite of commercial applications not practical or possible today.

    These applications include the development of a longer, advanced wind blade for increased wind capture and stronger risers to enable high-pressure deep-sea oil exploration and production.

    The Center of Excellence will benefit from Global Research Europe’s carbon composites manufacturing lab, which opened in September 2007, and the TUM’s newly created Lehrstuhl Carbon Composite (LCC) institute, led by Professor Dr. Klaus Drechsler. The establishment of the LCC at the TUM has been enabled through an endowment by SGL Carbon SE, headquartered in Wiesbaden, which is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of carbon-based products.

    Composites, consisting of carbon fibers and resins, are stronger than the metals that they replace and also are lighter weight, which allows for new product design and enables product efficiency such as fuel savings. GE Aviation used composites in the fan blade of the GE90 jet engine, which was commercialized in the mid 1990s and have since expanded the use to the fan case for the GEnx. In both engines, reductions in weight due to use of carbon composites have led to improved fuel economy and performance over previous-generation engines. GE researchers are applying carbon composite technology to wind turbine blades, which could ultimately result in weight savings of 30%.

    - about 14 hours
    source: (Green Car Congress)
  • E-One Moli Energy Building New Li-ion Plant in Taiwan

    Taiwan-based E-One Moli Energy Corp. (Molicel) is building a new lithium-ion battery plant in Taiwan with a monthly production capacity of 12 million units.

    The expansion will make E-One Moli one of the world’s top manufacturers of lithium-ion batteries. The company says that it will focus on the laptop-computer, cordless power tool, and electric or hybrid-electric vehicle market.

    The new plant is located next to its first plant in the Southern Taiwan Science Park; construction work is slated for completion by the end of 2009.

    E-One Moli currently manufactures and markets a variety of cylindrical and prismatic lithium-ion cells, using different cathode materials. The company says that it is working with strategic partners to develop the next-generation of cells for transportation and electrical energy storage.

    - about 15 hours
    source: (Green Car Congress)
  • Drawing Lines on Doing Favors
    It can be hard to make an ethical call on using your connections. - about 15 hours
    source: (U.S. News)