Clean Fleet Report: EV, PHEV, Hydrogen, Alt-Fuel Vehicles

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Biofuel Innovators with Alternatives to Oil

By John Addison (5/14/08). Oil soars to $125 per barrel and economies around the world sputter or fall into recession. Enough is enough. Many biofuels can be blended with gasoline and diesel refined from oil, then pumped into our existing vehicles. The new biofuels have the potential to encourage sustainable reforesting and soil enrichment. Biofuel 2.0 provides a path to fuel from wood and waste, not food and haste. Clean Fleet Report

60% Fuel Savings in New Delivery Truck

(5/14/08) A unique government-corporate partnership, CALSTART's Hybrid Truck Users Forum (HTUF), selected Hybra-Drive Systems LLC to build three large Class 6 trucks for road testing that incorporate the firm's approach to the promising hydraulic hybrid technology. Under the new agreement, which is being funded by the Department of Energy, Hybra-Drive will build and deliver three hydraulic hybrid trucks over the next 9-to-12 months. UPS, FedEx Ground and Purolator then will conduct a 6 to 9 month evaluation of the vehicle. Hybra-Drive hopes the evaluations will demonstrate up to a 60 percent cut in fuel use. CALSTART Article

UPS Places Largest Hybrid Order in History

(5/13/08) UPS will purchase 500 additional alternative fuel vehicles for its corporate fleet, growing the number by 30 percent and continuing to grow what is already the transportation sector's largest privately held alternative fuel vehicle fleet. The company will purchase 200 additional hybrid gas-electric and 300 compressed natural gas (CNG) delivery trucks for use in its U.S. fleet. UPS Press Release

A123 Wins New Battery Award with U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium

(5/3/08) USABC, an organization whose members are Chrysler, Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corporation, has finalized a $12.5 million plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) battery technology development contract with A123Systems for 10- and 40-mile electric range PHEVs. Green Car Congress

The Secrets of Curitiba

By John Addison (5/1/08) Jamie Lerner, renowned architect and former mayor of Curitiba, Brazil, shares the secrets of success. The city is not a problem; the city is a solution. Cities like Curitiba are model solutions from driving less and enjoying life more. Clean Fleet Article

California High-Speed Rail

By John Addison (Earth Day 2008). The California High-Speed Rail Authority believe they just may have the answer — an 800 mile statewide high-speed rail system that would serve more than 32 million passengers per year by 2020. Because the rail will be powered by electricity, and because of the efficiency of moving up to 1,200 people per train, CO2 emissions may be reduced by 12 billion pounds per year by 2020, and 18 billion pounds by 2030. Cleen Fleet Article

TH!NK Brings Electric Vehicles to the United States

(4/21/08) “The TH!NK city is the world’s only crash-tested and highway-certified EV and is ideal for markets such as California where we will initiate demonstration projects offering an exceptionally safe and fun car to drive” says Jan-Olaf Willums, CEO of Think Global. –“We are therefore proud to partner with the two pioneering investors in the clean tech field and to launch TH!NK city in North America with them.” TH!NK city reaches a top speed of 100 km (65 miles) per hour and can drive up to 180 km (110 miles) on a single charge. TH!NK Press Release

General Motors Looks Beyond Oil

By John Addison (4/16/08). “One of the most serious business issues currently facing General Motors is our product’s near total dependence on petroleum as a source of energy. To address this issue, we have been implementing a strategy to displace petroleum through energy diversity and efficiency,” explained Dr. Larry Burns, Vice-President of Research and Development for General Motors, during his keynote speech. Clean Fleet Article

Volvo Puts First Hybrid Trash Truck into Service

Volvo Trucks is now taking an important step towards commercialisation of this technology for heavy vehicles by launching two hybrid refuse trucks that will be tested in regular daily operations in Sweden by refuse collection firms Renova and Ragn-Sells. “This test phase is the last stage in the evaluation of our hybrid solution ahead of production launch,” reveals Staffan Jufors, president and CEO of the Volvo Truck Corporation. Climate and Environment Media

Hybrid Trash Trucks Do Heavy Lifting

(4/16/08) ISE Corporation (ISE), a leading supplier of hybrid drive systems for heavy duty vehicles, and Crane Carrier Company (CCC) have been selected by CALSTART's Hybrid Truck Users Forum (HTUF) Refuse Working Group to build Class 7 and 8 hybrid electric refuse vehicles. The working group members taking part in this hybrid refuse vehicles pilot project include the Department of Sanitation, City of New York; the City of Chicago; and Solid Waste Management Department, City of Houston. There will be 5 vehicles built and powered by a variant of ISE's ThunderVolt hybrid drive systems. ISE Press Release

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