Yamaha EC-03- electric powered commuter vehicle

The Yamaha EC-03 is a 100% electric powered commuter vehicle developed with a concept of Light, Smart, Clean and Silent. It mounts a slim electric power unit and lithium-ion battery on a lightweight aluminum frame. With Yamaha-exclusive motor control technology it provides smooth start-ups and acceleration. The charger is built into the vehicle for easy recharging from a home electric outlet.

The Yamaha EC-03 with Permanent magnet type synchronous motor power unit is equivalent to 50cc license category at less than 0.6 kW (600 watts) and is powered by Lithium-ion battery.

Legal barriers loom for fuel-cell auto technology

The recent buzz over hybrids and electric cars has overshadowed the massive investments global auto giants are making in fuel-cell vehicles — another near-reality dream car that some believe promises an ultimate zero-emissions society.

Japan plans to stay on the cutting edge of the accelerated race for green technology — including fuel cells — that has kept its automakers competitive even as rival gas-guzzling carmakers crumbled under the weight of the global recession.

But despite a lead in technology, some carmakers, especially from abroad, say costly and back-breaking legal barriers are making Japanese roads uninviting for testing their latest pollution-free cars.

General Motors Co. of the United States and Mercedes-Benz, an arm of Germany's Daimler AG, have long been engaged in talks with Japanese authorities to bring in their latest fuel-cell vehicles with 700-bar high-pressure hydrogen storage tanks for a test run on public roads.

"Japan is waving a flag for eco-cars but why don't they let these cars in," said George Hansen, director in charge of fuel-cell commercialization at General Motors Asia Pacific (Japan) Ltd.

Fuel-cell vehicles, which are powered by electricity generated by a reaction between oxygen and hydrogen, have long been researched as an alternative to petroleum-powered cars since they only emit water vapor, have ample driving range and can be quickly refueled.

With global auto giants pushing to mass-produce the electric vehicles with fuel cells from 2015, Japan is also scrambling to lay the groundwork that will help to allay concerns on safety, production costs and lack of infrastructure like hydrogen fueling stations.

But while the country already has regulations on a 350-bar ( 5000 psi ) hydrogen tank system, the government is still in the process of setting up a legal framework for a 700-bar ( 10,000 psi) system, which promises a longer cruising distance.

As a result, automakers say they currently need to collect and submit massive volumes of data for a series of safety tests to obtain certification, a straining and foggy process that could cost over $1 million in total.

In GM's case, the automaker needs to provide convincing data to verify the safety of a tank material that is not common in Japan — the key cause for stalled talks for certification.

"There is nowhere else in the world that requires this amount of money for a test vehicle," said Masanobu Wada, managing director of the Japan Automobile Importers Association.

Combined with huge resources already spent in developing the fuel-cell vehicle, there is also no guarantee that the extra costs for data collection will bear fruit.

At home, Toyota Motor Corp. is among the few domestic automakers given approval for driving its FCHV-adv fuel-cell vehicle with a 700-bar system on public roads.

Both Toyota and Honda Motor Co., whose FCX Clarity with a lower pressure 350-bar system is available for lease in Japan, refused to provide any details on the certification process.

But several officials familiar with the negotiations said Toyota likely also waded through the same hurdles to obtain approval for its FCHV since both Japanese and foreign automakers are obliged to meet the taxing requirements for a test run on public roads.

"There are no legal shortcuts," an official at a Japanese carmaker said on condition of anonymity. "The government does not have any guideline to evaluate the new technology."

GM brought one of its fuel-cell Chevrolet Equinox vehicles to Japan around two years ago for a test run, but it still remains stationed for display at a government exhibition park in Yokohama.

The U.S. automaker currently has over 100 of these cars on roads worldwide, including the United States, Europe and South Korea.

"To be honest, we can't just let our vehicle — our valuable asset — sit tight since it will decay if we don't move it," Hansen said.

But GM is no stranger in the process. It made similar investments when it was granted approval for its liquid hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, the HydroGen3, in 2003.

And this time the situation is vastly different. The company, which made a rare speedy exit from bankruptcy proceedings in July, is eager to put on a greener face and keep its foothold in an environmentally conscious market.

"We're not giving up," Hansen said. "GM believes it's important to have our cars driven in Japan."

Japan, for its part, has been trying to relax some of its regulations while launching various demonstrations and projects to ensure safety. It is also one of the key players in efforts led by the United Nations to compile global standards for fuel-cell and other auto-related technologies.

"We are aiming for international harmonization so Japan does not isolate itself with unique regulations," said Yasushi Takahashi, chief officer at the government-affiliated New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization.

"But these promotional activities (on fuel-cell vehicles) will come to an immediate halt if an accident occurs, so we need to be cautious in that sense," he added.

Takafumi Imada, subsection chief in charge of hydrogen and fuel-cell promotion at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, also said each automaker for its part needs to specify concrete numerical targets that demonstrate the company's long-term position on fuel-cell vehicles.

"We feel that they should clarify the role of their (fuel-cell) business and their firm commitment and resolve," Imada said. "Only then can we begin talk on division between the public and private sectors on what each of us needs to do."

But whether foreign automakers are willing to wait for those legal barriers to come down is another matter, especially at a time when many are turning their attention away from a shrinking Japanese market to vibrant auto demand in neighboring China.

"If Japan wants to lead in environmental technology, it needs to think more about what that really means," GM's Hansen said.

"Instead of simply making good technology and exporting it," Hansen said Japan should exercise "soft leadership in translating various ideas (on paper) into action."

From living in a truck to $200M how Dale Vince built Ecotricity

In previous coverage of the UK wind power company Ecotricity and their Lotus based EV project I have to admit I had the wrong opinion about Ecotricity CEO Dale Vince. Having just discovered he founded the company while having lived in the back of a truck for 10 years I have a new found respect for the man.

In an interview with Robert Llewellyn (of cult BBC sitcom Red Dwarf fame), Dale busts some myths about wind turbine load factor, the UK's wind generating capacity, and explains how Ecotricity got started from the back of a truck, taking 5 years to get his first wind turbine up, to building a company worth $200 Million. They also take the $350,000 wind powered Lotus EV for a spin.

The interview is part of an Internet TV series called Carpool in which Llewellyn interviews notable business people, celebrities and other interesting characters. Being mostly British based many of the 'Celeb's may be unfamiliar, but the show is mostly about Green topics and they're always in either a hybrid or an electric car. Other notable interviews Chelsea Sexton, proponent of electric vehicles, Diarmuid O'Connell, Vice President of Business Development for Tesla Motors and a test drive of the Mitsubishi MiEV.

Electric Cars to have downloadable fake engine noise

For decades, automakers have been on a quest to make cars quieter: an auto that purrs, and glides almost silently in traffic. Despite the fact that 70% of the noise generated by a vehcile is created by the tires, some are now claiming electric vehciles and hybrids aren’t noisy enough.

Self appointed safety experts, the same people who brought us the hyper annoying reversing beeper, worry that electric vehicles and hybrids pose a threat if pedestrians can’t hear them approaching and want to impose themselves on automakers to supply some digitally enhanced vroom.

So automakers have now gone on a PR offensive to counter these claims. Just as cellphones have ring tones, “car tones” may not be far behind — an option for owners of electric vehicles to choose the sound their cars emit.

Working with Hollywood special-effects wizards, some hybrid auto companies have started tinkering in sound studios, rather than machine shops, to customize engine noises. The Fisker Karma, an $87,900 plug-in hybrid expected to go on sale next year, will emit a sound — pumped out of speakers in the bumpers — that the company founder, Henrik Fisker, describes as “a cross between a starship and a Formula One car.”

Nissan is also consulting with the film industry on sounds that could be emitted by its forthcoming Leaf battery-electric vehicle, while Toyota has been working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the National Federation of the Blind and the Society of Automotive Engineers on sounds for electric vehicles.

“One possibility is choosing your own noise,” said Nathalie Bauters, a spokeswoman for BMW’s Mini division, who added that such technology could be added to one of BMW’s electric vehicles in the future.

Despite the fact that EVs haven't even hit the showroom floors yet, Congress introduced the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 early this year that would require a federal safety standard to protect pedestrians from ultra-quiet cars. We are left to imagine which particular vested interests are funding which special interest group pushing for this kind of law?

Karen Aldana, a spokeswoman for traffic safety agency, which is also working on the issue, said, “We’re looking at data on noise and E.V. safety, but manufacturers are starting to address it voluntarily.”

A Toyota spokesman, John Hanson, said: “I don’t know of any injuries related to this, but it is a concern. We are moving rapidly toward broader use of electrification in vehicles, and it’s a fact that these cars are very quiet and could pose a risk to unsighted people.”

A study published last year by the University of California, Riverside and financed by the National Federation of the Blind evaluated the effect of sounds emitted by hybrid and internal-combustion cars traveling at 5 miles per hour.

People listening in a lab could correctly detect a gas-powered car’s approach when it was 28 feet away, but could not hear the arrival of a hybrid operating in silent battery mode until it was only seven feet away. Of couse electric vehciles don't actually drive down footpaths so this only becomes a problem if a blind person jaywalks.

A more realistic proposal may be a law requiring all Vision-impaired people to wear day-glow safety vests when walking near roads, exactly like out-door workers, including Police, are required to do by current occupational health and safety laws.

Mr. Scott, vice president of the advocacy group Plug In America, said he would prefer giving drivers control over whether the motor makes noise, unlike, say, the Fisker Karma, which will make its warning noise automatically.

“Quiet cars need to stay quiet — we worked so hard to make them that way,” he said. “It’s the driver’s responsibility not to hit somebody.”

Mr. Scott has already warmed up to the idea of a car ring tone.

“It should be a manually operated noisemaker, a button on the steering wheel triggering a recording of your choice,” he said. “It could play ‘In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida,’ or anything you like.”

Not forgetting the manually operated steering wheel mounted noisemaker already standard on all cars... the HORN!!

Japanese firm plans zero-emission ferry

A Japanese shipmaker said Thursday it planned to launch the world's first large electric ferry -- the latest innovation aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

A subsidiary of heavy machinery giant IHI Corp. has completed a basic design for a 30-metre (99-foot) long ferry that could carry 800 passengers, powered by rechargeable batteries, a company spokesman said.

While smaller battery-powered boats are already in use, IHI's ferry would be "the world's first large plug-in vessel," he said.

"It would emit no carbon dioxide or nitrogen oxide. We also aim to slash fuel costs," said the spokesman, who declined to be named.

The ferry would be able to cruise some 120 kilometres (74 miles) on a charge of six to eight hours, he said.

The group's shipbuilding subsidiary IHI Marine United Inc. plans to launch the ferry in around 2015, when it expects high-performance rechargeable batteries to be available at a lower cost.

The total battery capacity would be around 5,000 kilowatt hours -- more than 300 times greater than that of a small electric vehicle currently in use, the spokesman said.

The price is likely to be some 60 percent higher than that of a conventional ferry, he added.

Japanese car makers are already world leaders in fuel-efficient vehicles and Nissan plans to start selling what it describes as the world's first affordable electric car in late 2010.

Audi R4 eTron rendering

Following our head to head comparison between the Mercedes SLS EV and the Audo eTron, various speculative renderings of what the future Audi R4 eTron might look like are doing the rounds. The Audi R4 will be the production version of the eTron electric car concept shown off at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

Slotted between the Audi TT and the Audi R8, the all-electric R4 will likely have conventional combustion engine options as well. It will possibly share a platform with the Porsche Cayman, and the upcoming Boxster, and should utilize aspects of the Aluminum Space Frame.

Expect the electric model to run on lithium-ion batteries, sending power to electric motors mounted in-board on each wheel. Expect these four motors to combine for well over the Tesla Roadster's output of 248 horsepower. Because of a robust amount of torque, expect the TT Coupe's 6.6-second time to be shattered by the R4.

A full-charge may be able to take the R4 155 miles without plugging in, but that may not be enough to lure Tesla Roadster customers.

Electric Fuel Cell UAV Sets Unofficial Endurance Record

The Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL's) Ion Tiger, a hydrogen-powered fuel cell unmanned air vehicle (UAV), has flown 23 hours and 17 minutes, setting an unofficial flight endurance record for a fuel-cell powered flight. The test flight took place on October 9th through 10th at Aberdeen Proving Ground. The Ion Tiger fuel cell development system team is led by NRL and includes Protonex Technology Corporation, the University of Hawaii, and HyperComp Engineering. The program is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR).

The electric fuel cell propulsion system onboard the Ion Tiger has the low noise and signature of a battery-powered UAV, while taking advantage of hydrogen, a high-energy fuel. Fuel cells create an electrical current when they convert hydrogen and oxygen into water, with only water and heat as byproducts. The 550-Watt (0.75 horsepower) fuel cell onboard the Ion Tiger has about 4 times the efficiency of a comparable internal combustion engine and the system provides 7 times the energy in the equivalent weight of batteries. The Ion Tiger weighs approximately 37 pounds and carries a 4 to 5 pound payload.

Small UAVs are growing in importance for naval missions, as they provide capabilities ranging from surveillance collection to communication links. Electric UAVs have the additional feature of being nearly undetectable from the ground. Due to the high energy in the fuel cell system onboard the Ion Tiger, it is now possible to do long endurance missions with an electric UAV, thus allowing a larger cruise range and reducing the number of daily launches and landings. This provides more capability while saving time and effort for the crew.

In 2005, NRL backed initial research in fuel cell technologies for UAVs. Today, says NRL's Karen Swider-Lyons, "the long endurance flight was made possible by the team's research on high power, efficient fuel cell systems, lightweight hydrogen-gas storage tanks, improved thermal management, and the effective integration of these systems."

Fuel cell technology is being developed to impact the operational spectrum of technologies including ground, air and undersea vehicles and man-portable power for Marine expeditionary missions. "The Ion Tiger successfully demonstrates ONR's vision to show how efficient, clean technology can be used to improve the warfighter's capabilities," comments ONR's Michele Anderson.