Renault-Nissan signs MoU with state government of New South Wales Australia

The Renault-Nissan Alliance (the Alliance) and the State
Government of New South Wales in Australia have formed a partnership to
explore the development of a Zero Emission Vehicles program.
The two organizations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
under which a working team of representatives from the New South Wales
Government and Nissan will identify potential areas of co-operation in
promoting the use of zero emission vehicles in the State.

"Today, Nissan is proud to partner with the New South Wales government
through the signing of this MOU," said Dan Thompson, Nissan Australia CEO.
"Technology for zero emissions mobility is a reality and we are prepared to
proactively explore ways to bringing this technology to the market with
collaboration from the government. “

“Our company is leading the world in the design and production of a battery powered
family-sized car and we aim to have this vehicle on sale in Australia
by 2012. The announcement of the signing of a strategic MoU with the
Government of New South Wales brings that reality closer,” Thompson
continued. “The Nissan organization recognizes the importance of
sustainability by limiting CO2 emissions and we are ready and able to partner
governments in pursuing that role.”

Study says EVs to be a $300 billion business by 2020

PRTM, a global management consulting firm, today released new figures that show the worldwide electric battery-electric vehicle value chain is likely to be approximately $300B by 2020-creating more than 1 million related jobs. The US will probably account for only 125,000 of those new jobs. According to PRTM, these jobs will be created across the EV value chain at energy providers, smart grid technology firms, battery and component suppliers, vehicle OEMs and service providers.

An additional 100,000 to 150,000 jobs could be created in the US by 2020 if more concerted and aggressive efforts, as proposed in the recently released "Electrification Roadmap", developed by the Electrification Coalition with input and analysis by PRTM, are implemented. These new jobs will be in electric power utilities, smart grid transmission/distribution systems, and components for electric vehicles such as advanced batteries, electric motors and the manufacture and service of EVs, according to the PRTM analysis.

"The anticipated measures relating to electric vehicles will clearly fuel jobs growth in the US and abroad over the next decade" said Oliver Hazimeh, Director at PRTM and head of the firm's global E-Mobility Practice. "If the measures proposed in the recently announced Electrification Roadmap are adopted, job creation could rise significantly over the more conservative estimates. Job-creation in the US and abroad is clearly essential to economic recovery, and public/private partnerships across the EV value chain will assist in creating these new jobs. Many of them will be desirable, high tech jobs."

"Moreover, we believe that the worldwide tipping point in EV acceptance, whereby EVs become the dominant direction in the auto sector, will likely occur in the next few years. This means that the EV industry will probably serve as an accelerator for the scaling of the entire CleanTech sector worldwide, given the inherent size of the automotive industry," added Hazimeh.

The Electrification Coalition released the Electrification Roadmap¸ a sweeping report detailing the dangers of oil dependence, explaining the benefits of electrification, describing the challenges facing electric cars, and providing specific policy proposals to overcome those challenges, on November 16, in Washington DC. PRTM provided market analysis and technical input for the Roadmap, including detailed modeling on vehicle costs.

The Electrification Roadmap presents a bold and specific vision: By 2040, 75 percent of light-duty vehicle miles traveled in the United States should be electric miles. As a result, oil consumption in the light-duty fleet would be reduced by more than 75 percent, and U.S. crude oil imports could effectively be reduced to zero.

Among its many policy recommendations, the Roadmap proposes the creation of electrification 'ecosystems,' geographic areas in which all of the elements of an electrified transportation system are deployed, thus providing a crucial first step toward moving electrification beyond a niche product into a dominant, compelling, and ubiquitous concept. The Electrification Roadmap can be found at www.electrificationcoalition.com and www.prtm.com.

Think Restart EV Production Initial Deliveries by Christmas

Think, the Norwegian electric-vehicle maker has re-started production of its plug-in battery-electric City car, one of the world's first urban EVs, at a new, state-of-the-art facility with manufacturing partner Valmet Automotive in Uusikaupunki, Finland.

Valmet Automotive provides engineering and manufacturing services to the automotive industry and recently became a Think shareholder and strategic industrial partner. Fisker Automotive's Karma exotic plug-in hybrid and other vehicles are slated to be made at the Valmet plant.

The start of City production marks a new start for Think, which required bankruptcy protection earlier this year. Since then, it's received financial support from investors, made a number of executive appointment and won major new contracts in the drivetrain supply business

Think CEO Richard Canny said today that about 2,300 of the zero-emissions City cars, which can travel up to 112 miles on a single charge, have been ordered and "I am so pleased that some of our very loyal customers can look forward to delivery of their long-awaited Think City before Christmas."

Sales of the City have started in Austria, Denmark, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, with first fleet deliveries due to start this month. Most of those sales were made to municipal authorities and utility partners, supported by government incentives.

Red Li-on project develops low cost EV battery

Engineering firm QinetiQ, transport technology company Ricardo and the UK government-backed Energy Saving Trust, today announced that after two years of collaboration they have demonstrated a new type of lithium-ion cell chemistry and battery management system that promises to cut the cost of electric vehicle batteries by about a third.

The cost of battery technology is one of the main reasons that hybrid and electric cars boast a price premium compared with conventional vehicles, and as a result the aim of the reduced cost Li-Ion (RED-LION) project was to help bolster the commercial viability of electric cars by identifying alternative battery systems that can be manufactured at lower cost.

The new batteries are based on an alternative lithium ion sulphide that enjoys lower raw material costs than the lithium cobalt oxide cells used in most electric vehicles. The company also argued that manufacturing processes for the new cells would prove more energy efficient than existing processes, further lowering costs.

"The fundamental material we used in the cells has higher levels of energy than the cobalt oxide cells," explained Steve Farmer, sales manager for transportable power at QinetiQ. "We started from that first principle and looked at ways of making it work in new transport applications."

He added that because of the higher energy density, the battery also promised significantly improved performance compared with conventional lithium-ion batteries.

The pilot project produced a battery that was the same size as a small conventional lithium-ion battery that would deliver a 2km range in a standard electric vehicle. Farmer said that the new cell delivered five times more power and was 20 per cent lighter, although he advised that this scale of improvement would not necessarily translate into such a large increase in vehicle range as it would be dependent on how the cell was configured in the vehicle.

"You wouldn't get a five times increase in range as we tend to limit the energy output to extend the battery's life," he explained, before adding that significant increases in range were still expected.

Mark Roberts, strategic market team director for energy and environment at QinetiQ, said that the company was now looking to extend the project. "We weren't able to demonstrate a vehicle being powered by the cell, so the next step is to put the technology in a reference vehicle," he said.

RUF introduce eRUF Stormster EV Porsche Cayenne

RUF Automobile GmbH, located in the small Bavarian town of Pfaffenhausen, the manufacturer of high performance automobiles, introduced the first electric sports car (eRUF) from Germany in October 2008.

During the Geneva Motor Show, in March 2009, RUF presented an evolution of the first eRUF, widely known as "Greenster". The eRUF family continues to grow with the unveiling of the "Stormster", the very first electrically driven SUV based on the Porsche Cayenne.

The Stormster is driven by a Siemens electric motor, with 270 kW (367 bhp) as in the eRUF sports car. The total weight is 2,670 kg which makes it capable of reaching 100 km/h in only 10 seconds. The top speed is 150 km/h, being able to reach a range of 200 km at one charge.

The lithium ion accumulators are supplied by Li-Tec Battery GmbH. Li-Tec is the first manufacturer of lithium ion battery cells in Europe, designed for the automobile industry using ceramic storage technology.

Hankook developed the winter tires for the all wheel drive Stormster which is fitted to RUF classic 5 spoke lightweight wheels. Tires of size 295/30 R 22 allow the best possible road grip.

The Stormster will have its first public debut during the European Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, (COP 15), Denmark from December 7th to 18th.

Ford to Invest $500 million in EVs

Ford are looking to invest up to $500 million for its hybrid vehicle projects and create more than 1,000 new jobs in Michigan if state lawmakers expand an existing incentive program and approve $85 million in tax credits, according to the Detroit News.

If Ford's needs are met, the company will go ahead with plans to design and assemble battery packs for a new generation of hybrid vehicles in Michigan, and possibly even make a new hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicle based on the Ford Focus platform it plans to launch in Detroit in January.

Last year, Michigan lawmakers authorized tax credits for the assemblage of high-capacity lithium-ion battery packs, but Ford is now requesting them to expand the incentives to include lower-capacity batteries used in hybrid vehicles.

Ford is specifically requesting $85 million in tax credits from the program through 2014, and on top of that, an additional $35 million beyond 2014 if the lithium-ion cells for the battery packs are made in Michigan.

Currently auto-parts supplier Delphi assembles the battery pack for Ford's current hybrid vehicles in Mexico according to Reuters. Ford says the change it is trying to make is in no way a reflection of Delphi's performance. Rather, it represents Ford's desire to set itself apart from competitors through battery development.

Samsung and Bosch JV in 10 Year Supply Agreement With Delphi

SB LiMotive, a car battery joint venture between South Korea's Samsung SDI and Germany's Robert Bosch GmbH, has agreed to supply U.S. auto parts supplier Delphi with batteries for hybrid commercial vehicles.

Samsung SDI said in a statement today that under the exclusive 10-year deal, SB LiMotive would sell lithium-ion batteries for buses and trucks starting in 2012. No financial details were disclosed.

Delphi, which emerged from a four-year bankruptcy in October, would use the batteries in its battery packs and propulsion systems, Samsung SDI said.

SB LiMotive is set to start production of batteries for hybrids and full-electric vehicles in 2011 at a plant under construction in Ulsan, South Korea. It is also in a deal to supply batteries for BMW AG's Megacity project.