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Renault has decided to manufacture the electric version of Fluence at the OYAK-Renault Bursa plant in Turkey, with production to start in first-half 2011.
Unveiled as Fluence Z.E. Concept, the electric vehicle (EV) will be produced on the same production line as the fuel-powered versions of Fluence. As at Maubeuge, where the Group will produce electric and fuelpowered Kangoos, this option will limit the entry ticket of the program and ensure a quick industrial start, while ensuring top-level quality.
Continue reading Renault Announces Fourth Manufacturing Site for Its Electric Vehicles
The Tokai University solar car entry #60 Tokai Challenger has claimed victory in the 2009 Global Green Challenge. The Japanese team crossed the control finish line just north of Adelaide at 3.39pm SA daylight saving time.
At the Milan International Cycle and Motorbike Show, Peugeot will present a new scooter concept: The HYbrid3 Evolution.The company claims that it is both practical and safe thanks to its three-wheel drive capability and offering a high level of performance (36 kW / 49 bhp), it offers original versatility and emits only 48 g/km of CO2 in the combined cycle or zero in electric mode, thanks to its innovative hybrid technology. Visitors to the 67th Milan International Cycle and Motorbike Show will discover, from 10 to 15 November 2009, the HYbrid3 Evolution concept. With its three wheels, this concept is positioned between two clearly distinct worlds: that of the scooter and that of the car. The HYbrid3 Evolution is a roofless version of the HYbrid3 compressor, presented at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. It has in its genes therefore the ability to meet the expectations of different potential customers.
The Solar Impulse project is pursuing the objective of circumnavigating the Earth powered only by sunlight. The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) has played a significant role in the development of this visionary flying technology platform, which has now been awarded the Braunschweig Research Prize.
Renault has decided to produce the future electric, zero-emission version of its Kangoo Express LCV at M.C.A. (Maubeuge Carrosserie Automobile), in northern France, starting in the first half of 2011. The electric vehicle will be built on the same production line as the internal combustion variants. The new version will benefit from the know-how, fabric of suppliers and logistics network of the current Kangoo.
A project to develop a new all-electric urban car, that will be affordable for many consumers when it reaches market and manufactured using an innovative and sustainable production process has been announced in the UK. It comes at a time when many companies are announcing development programs for electric or zero emission vehicles , hybrids and plug-in hybrids but how these vehicles are made may be as important to the environment as the fuel they do or don’t use. Hybrids for example have an increased level of complexity with an electric drive-train and battery integrated with a conventional internal combustion engine. This means that from a life cycle perspective the production of hybrid vehicles uses more resources and energy than their conventional counterparts. If this energy was derived from fossil fuels than the manufacturing of our well meaning hybrid also produced additional CO2. Battery electric vehicles are simpler in that they have only one drive-train with less moving parts than an internal combustion engine. However are they to be made in a sustainable manor? Plastic parts are made from oil and considerable energy is used in production and assembly process. Is the plant that they are to be built in an old car plant that leaks heat , wastes energy, produces VOC’s and buys it’s electricity from a coal fired generator? How do we know how much of a carbon footprint is coming with our new zero emission vehicle?
Renault, which already produces Mégane Hatchback, Mégane Estate, Modus and Grand Modus exclusively in Spain, has chosen to manufacture the future electric vehicle (EV) based on Twizy Z.E. Concept at Valladolid, 150 km north west of Madrid. Compact, nimble and practical, the future zeroemissionEV will fully meet all sustainable urban mobility needs.
A boat tail is a tapering protrusion about two metres in length mounted on the rear of a truck. During a recent study at the ‘Platform for Aerodynamic Road Transport’ (PART) an articulated lorry was driven for a period of one year with a boat tail (of varying length) and one year without a boat tail. The improved aerodynamics, depending on the length of the boat tail, resulted in reduced fuel consumption (and emissions!) of up to 7.5 percent. The optimum boat tail length proved to be two metres.
Automotive lithium-ion battery maker EnerDel, Inc. announced today that it will be working with the United States Army to develop a next-generation battery system for the hybrid version of the iconic High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV or Humvee), known as the XM1124 Humvee. The company, a subsidiary of Ener1, Inc. (Nasdaq: HEV), has received a $1.29 million contract to design and build high-performance lithium-ion battery systems for two different applications, drawing on its expertise in multiple-chemistry solutions and ability to provide a complete architecture in cell chemistry, electronics and battery systems design.
