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January 28, 2008 issue of Fleets & Fuels
A big-name grocery chain has committed to biodiesel across its fleet, a Paccar unit has committed to factory production of LNG tractors, three Daimler truck brands are touting hybrid drives and CNG delivery trucks. The U.S. arm of a 28,000-employee Chinese OEM vows to deliver CNG-fueled transit buses that cost no more to buy than conventional diesels. A U.S. firm is powering buses from the same supplier in Guangzhou. A U.S. drivetrain developer says its e-drive shipments in 2007 were tenfold those of 2006. A U.S. OEM teams with an innovative cellulosic ethanol outfit, and sets an engineering unit for electric vehicles. A lithium battery providers link with a vehicle developer. Fleet-leasing firms are weighing into the clean vehicles arena in a big way. We deliver a rundown on a big name firm. Lots of key meetings news too. Biomethane. It's all in the January 28 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Fleets & Fuels readers have theirs. Shouldn't you subscribe to Fleets & Fuels Rich Piellisch January 14, 2008 issue of Fleets & Fuels
The advent of LNG trucking in Europe, the XH Extreme plug-in hybrid, 'routine' delivery of landfill-derived LNG, Las Vegas garners a world award for alt fuel efforts, certified Ford truck conversions to CNG. E85/ethanol, biodiesel and high-efficiency gasoline engine developments. A new international partnership for jatropha-based biodiesel. It's all in the January 14 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Fleets & Fuels readers have their copies, replete with telephone and e-mail contact information for key players. Shouldn't you subscribe to Fleets & Fuels too? Rich Piellisch January 1, 2008 issue of Fleets & Fuels
California will have to sue, again, if it wants to go ahead with its aggressive greenhouse gas reduction program (advocates were outmaneuvered in Washington, where a law raising mileage minimums was at last enacted). All that, and much much more, is detailed in the gala, January 1, first-of-the-New-Year, "look-ahead" Fleets & Fuels newsletter issue Ð which Fleets & Fuels readers already have, with key contact information for doing clean fuels business, now and throughout 2008. Shouldn't YOU be subscribing to Fleets & Fuels? Best Regards, (and HAPPY New Year!) Rich Piellisch December 10, 2007 issue of Fleets & Fuels
Plug in. Switch on. "We've sold hundreds and we expect to sell thousands next year," T3 Motion president Neil Brooker told F&F at EVS-23 last week. His company makes innovative, elegantly designed battery-powered three-wheelers for security applications. His remark (and his T3 vehicle) captures the spirit of this year's world electric vehicles meeting, the first in the U.S. since 2003. Vehicles on show ranged from electric bicycles to a Class 7 truck. Batterymakers ran the gamut from A123 to nickel zinc. Fleets & Fuels have Fleets & Fuels' coverage of EVS-23. Shouldn't you subscribe the Fleets & Fuels? Happy Holidays! Best Regards, Rich Piellisch November 26, 2007 issue of Fleets & Fuels
Two different types of hydrogen buses for London, six more diesel hybrids for London, new fuel cell buses for Oakland, an exit from automotive fuel cells, broader support for NGVs in Texas, clean commercial vehicles from a European OEM, clean fuels action (and inaction) in the Middle East, and a bid to boost natural gas vehicles in Southern California. It's all in the November 26 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Fleets & Fuels subscribers have the November 26 newsletter issue, replete with Key Contact information. Shouldn't YOU subscribe the Fleets & Fuels? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch November 5, 2007 issue of Fleets & Fuels
The goal of thousands of cleaner vehicles for the nation's ports got a big boost as funding has come through, and LNG will fuel trucks for the household names Nike and Target -- as new sources of LNG supply are emerging. In electric vehicles, at least four new plug-in hybrid trials are getting underway, and a U.S. battery manufacturer will supply Think Global in Norway in what it is said to be the largest automotive lithium ion deal ever. The Federal Transit Administration and Calstart are working up a plan for electrification of the nation's buses, and a major California transit agency is testing tough-spec biodiesel and a clean, natural gas-derived GTL fuel in 22 in-service vehicles. All this and more is in the November 5 issue of Fleets & Fuels. It's replete with key contact information (15 key players for the PHEV report alone). Fleets & Fuels readers have those names and phone numbers and e-mail addresses now. Shouldn't you be reading Fleets & Fuels regularly too? Subscribe today! Best Regards, Rich Piellisch October 22, 2007 issue of Fleets & Fuels
A pair of West Coast meetings kept clean vehicle advocates hopping last week, as NGVAmerica's national natural gas vehicles conclave was held in Reno, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District hosted the Southern California Clean Vehicle Technology Expo in Ontario, Calif. The South Coast Expo was the more colorful of the two, with an impressive line-up of ride-and-drive vehicles ranging from diminutive scooters to bright yellow school buses, including electric drives. But the real excitement was in Reno, where a resurgent NGV sector sees its fuel making a major comeback among U.S. fleet customers (think fuel price, geopolitics, the environment, fuel price). Attendees at both meetings basked in the prospect of more than $1 billion in alt fuels support as new legislation was signed by California Gov. Schwarzenegger. Lots of NGV project and vehicle placement news, and significant electric vehicle action too: a Canadian lithium ion battery specialist is looking at a manufacturing joint venture in India, and partners are talking up the first-ever plug-in hybrid electric utility bucket truck. GM, as widely reported, has begun deploying its 100-plus "Project Driveway" Equinox Fuel Cell cars. We tell how a major hydrogen provider is gearing up to help fuel them -- and how it's preparing for a competing automaker's 300-vehicle fuel cell vehicle deployment in 2009. It's all in the October 22 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Fleets & Fuels readers have their issues. Shouldn't you subscribe to Fleets & Fuels? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch October 8, 2007 issue of Fleets & Fuels
A successful HTUF meeting in Seattle in the context of hybrid trucks in production by name OEMs, just as the transit agency in Philadelphia orders 400 (and perhaps 480) hybrid buses with parallel electric drives. The Indiana company vying to be the first in the U.S. to commercialize lithium ion batteries for vehicles will unveil a line of 'plug-and-play' battery packs Tuesday. The firm unit has new government funding too. A Massachusetts company has a $2 million Air Force contract for hybrids. A Japanese manufacturer credits its own new high-pressure fuel tanks for a record setting run of its hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in Japan. A new company in New York plans to furnish CNG limousines for high-rollers, while even higher rollers, who fly in private jets, are being offered carbon offsets as operators fund alternative jet fuel research. It's all detailed in the October 8 issue of Fleets & Fuels. We suggest that you subscribe to Fleets & Fuels. Best Regards, Rich Piellisch September 17, 2007 issue of Fleets & Fuels
The Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium today announces hydrogen fuel cell bus projects representing $54 million in research. We deliver contact information at more than 20 participating organizations. A federal judge upholds the right of states to follow California's aggressive climate action plan, Ford raises the hybrid electric ante with a Volvo plug-in, Quantum teams with Fisker for luxury hybrids, Chrysler sets a hybrid division (and hires Jim Press from Toyota). Distrust batteries? The U.S. EPA talks up hydraulic hybrid technology for port vehicles, while a British-Canadian concern says steam is the answer for vehicles ranging from passenger cars to container ships. Clean Energy reveals the location of its new LNG plant in California, and GESI relocates in Los Angeles. It's all in the September 17 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Fleets & Fuels readers have theirs, replete with contact information. Shouldn't you subscribe to Fleets & Fuels too? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch September 3, 2007 issue of Fleets & Fuels
Hybrid trucks continue their commercialization march, transit agencies will soon be receiving alt fuel and hybrid versions of a new-design bus from Canada, Southern California clean air rules requiring alternative fuels for new fleet vehicle purchases are upheld. A California company gets $6 million to fund development of a radical 3-wheel electric vehicle. The Mayor of San Francisco gives a boost to a premium hotel chain's plans to install EV chargers ? with drivers of a particular new premium EV in mind. A fuel cell car breaks 200mph at Bonneville. Los Angeles tests what's believed to be the world's largest CNG bus. We profile Delta-Q, a Canadian manufacturer of compact integrated chargers for mass-market electric vehicles, including plug-in hybrids. It's all in the September 3 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Fleets & Fuels readers have theirs, replete with dozens of new contacts. Shouldn't you subscribe to Fleets & Fuels? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch September 3, 2007 issue of Fleets & Fuels
Hybrid trucks continue their commercialization march, transit agencies will soon be receiving alt fuel and hybrid versions of a new-design bus from Canada, Southern California clean air rules requiring alternative fuels for new fleet vehicle purchases are upheld. A California company gets $6 million to fund development of a radical 3-wheel electric vehicle. The Mayor of San Francisco gives a boost to a premium hotel chain's plans to install EV chargers ? with drivers of a particular new premium EV in mind. A fuel cell car breaks 200mph at Bonneville. Los Angeles tests what's believed to be the world's largest CNG bus. We profile Delta-Q, a Canadian manufacturer of compact integrated chargers for mass-market electric vehicles, including plug-in hybrids. It's all in the September 3 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Fleets & Fuels readers have theirs, replete with dozens of new contacts. Shouldn't you subscribe to Fleets & Fuels? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch August 20, 2007 issue of Fleets & Fuels
The North American natural gas vehicle fueling leader is branching to Peru as world sales of NGVs soar, with annual growth exceeding 30% over the past five years. A new program is kicking off for hybrid yard hostlers for ports - maybe electric, maybe hydraulic. RAC fleets are snapping up the Prius. A Canadian company brings the benefits of SCR to diesel aftertreatment, while eliminating selective catalytic reduction's extra chemical tanks. At least three firms are trumpeting plans for cellulosic ethanol production in the U.S. Volt developer gets tighter with Massachusetts battery outfit; deliveries of first-generation plug-in hybrid electric school buses continue; East Coast research agency gets its first plug-in, from a Canadian converter with its own advanced lithium batteries. A utility is already asking for a plug-in version of its HTUF service truck. Importer launches a low-speed battery truck from China, and details ambitious plans for a freeway-capable lithium ion passenger car. All the above and much more is in the August 20 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Subscribers have theirs. Shouldn't you subscribe to Fleets & Fuels? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch August 6, 2007 issue of Fleets & Fuels
We thought plug-in hybrid electric vehicles were gaining momentum two weeks ago -- now Toyota has acknowledged road tests of eight vehicles in Japan and is even supplying two PHEV Prius cars for evaluation by two U.S. universities. We tell why... (and provide contact information for a slew of PHEV projects) Fleets & Fuels reports on how a California transit agency is looking ahead to an electric drive/gaseous fuel future -- it may seek hybrid variants of some of its hundreds of on-order CNG buses. Updates on national hybrid refuse truck project (both electric and hydraulic variants are in the running) a report on the European Natural Gas Vehicle Association's recent annual meeting in Strasbourg, and a summary of pollution-cutting action at the Port of Oakland. It's all in the August 6 issue of Fleets & Fuels, which Fleets & Fuels readers have. Shouldn't you have it too? Why not subscribe today? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch May 7, 2007 issue of Fleets & Fuels A 150-unit buy of gasoline-fueled hybrid transit buses, battery truck partners tackling a plug-in hybrid, a Canadian agency's pending choice of a supplier of 20 fuel cell hybrid buses, and three CNG-hybrid projects. A deep discount on fuel to consumers buying a new dedicated-compressed natural gas Honda Civic GX, good initial grades for a pair of International trucks re-powered for CNG in Texas, and a brand new taxi with CNG or propane from the factory (soon to enter production). A profile of Canada's Electrovaya, a developer of versatile lithium polymer batteries with EV drivetrain design capabilities. All of the above and much much more is in the May 7 issue of Fleets & Fuels, the tenth of 2007. Fleets & Fuels readers already have theirs, replete with key contact information. Shouldn't you sign up for Fleets & Fuels?Best Regards, Rich Piellisch April 23, 2007 issue of Fleets & Fuels Momentum is building for hybrid electric vehicles, including the grid-connected plug-in kind, with a strong vote of confidence from the California Air Resources Board on cars, new details about a utility-backed OEM truck with parallel plug-in drivetrain, and $14 million more in federal plug-in funding up for grabs. Vehicle-to-grid technology -- V2G -- is getting substantial, mostly favorable attention. A Japanese automaker is teaming with an electronics goliath with an eye to becoming a lithium ion/electric transportation powerhouse. Tesla chief Martin Eberhard reveals a bit about his batteries. New EV fleet sales in the UK (a score) and Mexico (a thousand). A Southern California company positions itself with one Chinese manufacturer for advanced vehicles and battery packs, and with another for CNG tanks. Heavy duty NGV leader steams ahead with a new CNG truck family in Europe. Oil and paper companies ponder a cellulose-based biofuels venture. It's all in the April 23 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Regular Fleets & Fuels readers have theirs, with contact information for key players. Shouldn't you sign up for Fleets & Fuels too? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch April 9, 2007 issue of Fleets & Fuels The Supreme Court affirms that carbon dioxide may be regulated as a vehicle pollutant. Yet another name truckbuilder launches a hybrid electric model. A major diesel engine manufacturer approves B20. An Australian company tests CNG cement mixers. Companies display all manner of advanced vehicles and lay out their plans for an alt fuels future at the AF&V 2007 convention in Anaheim. The electric vehicle association calls in the professionals to help organize EVS-23, slated for the same venue late in the year. All of the details, with contact information for key players, is in the April 9 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Fleets & Fuels subscribers have theirs. Shouldn't you subscribe to Fleets & Fuels? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch March 26, 2007 issue of Fleets & Fuels A nickel battery leader seeks strategic alternatives, a Chicago start-up claims an answer to lithium ion thermal problems, the leading seller of hybrid passenger cars is making them available to rental car and other private fleets, a Northern Ireland busbuilder claims the first double-decker hybrid, a converter of diesel engines to natural gas pursues more power, a CNG fueling station specialist lines up a supplier of bigger compressors, a leading gas cylinder manufacturer will open a new CNG tank plant in California and branch into all-composite Type IVs, there is new biomethane progress in Europe, a team of German adventurers making the first-ever 'round-the-world trip on CNG arrives in the U.S., President Bush continues to stump for hybrids and other alternative fuel vehicles. All this and more is in the March 26 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Fleets & Fuels readers have all the details, including contact information. Shouldn't YOU subscribe to Fleets & Fuels too?Best Regards, Rich Piellisch March 12, 2007 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, Hybrid vans for the new fiber optics arm of a huge telecom fleet, funding of plug-in hybrids and natural gas vehicles in Los Angeles, deliveries of plug-in hybrid school buses, and a shift in the fueling of CNG buses on Long Island. We give you a run-down of the top ten alt fuel vehicle cities in the U.S., let you know who's the second retail customer for Honda's FCX fuel cell car, and deliver a company profile of a natural gas engine conversion specialist -- established in San Diego but based in the UK now, and looking for an OEM partner. More CHDV 2007 coverage, the Vanguard from UCS, modular hybrid drives from Germany, and a new study of the alt fuels blogosphere. 10,000-psi hydrogen in Irvine, Calif., and the possibility for 28,000 battery EVs in France. All the above and more is in the March 12 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Fleets & Fuels subscribers have the details. Shouldn't YOU subscribe to Fleets & Fuels too? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch February 26, 2007 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, From Bush and Blair down to the tiny copper fins that can help shrink the size and complexity of critical electric drive vehicle components, we run the gamut in this week's issue of Fleets & Fuels. Two English e-truck manufacturers are placing their latest offerings with two giant British retailers, a Washington State transit agency is mixing biodiesel and ethanol, a Finnish company has a new biodiesel that has none of biodiesel's problems, a heavy duty plug-in specialist has lined up a motor supplier, several natural gas vehicle players look to be changing hands, home CNG fueling catches on in Italy and the European NGV Association makes the case for generous carbon credits for NGV manufacturers. We cover a conference that no one in the clean vehicles industry should have missed. It's all in the February 26 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Fleets & Fuels have the details on all of the above, and more, replete with contact information for key players. Shouldn't YOU subscribe to Fleets & Fuels too? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch February 12, 2007 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, A major international oil company is putting half a billion dollars into biofuels, a household-name enginemaker is getting out of natural gas vehicles, the lead U.S. automaker wants federal money to help develop lithium batteries, an important battery research battery consultant concurs that plug-ins aren't ready, California has $25 million to spend on clean transportation projects, ports look to LNG, the car re-crowned as the world's greenest retains its HOV lane eligibility in California. We're impressed by a new argument by hydrogen boosters, one they should have been making all along. And we explain the strategy behind Ford's recent showing of plug-in series hybrid hydrogen fuel cell concept vehicles. Ford's HySeries chassis is shown here, as is a Honda Civic GX zipping up the carpool lane. Details of all of those items and more, much more, is in the February 12 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Fleets & Fuels readers have theirs, and they have contact information for all the key players. Shouldn't YOU subscribe to Fleets & Fuels too? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch January 29, 2007 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, No, that's not a new ride for the governor. We're juxtaposing Schwarzenegger and a new purpose-built taxi offered with alt fuels as factory options to show that plenty is going on in addition to President Bush's embrace of plug-in battery cars in his State of the Union address -- other officials are doing more, and while Mr. Bush may have brushed aside issues like global warming in the past, numerous entrepreneurs have not. We deliver details on lots of examples, from battery electrics to natural vehicles to E85-capable hybrids. It's all in the January 29 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Fleets & Fuels subscribers have the information. Shouldn't YOU subscribe to Fleets & Fuels too? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch January 15, 2007 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles have made widespread news as the lead U.S. vowed that it's serious about them and detailed a new SERIES drive concept, with implications that pure battery electrics are moving forward too. They certainly are in England, where the world's oldest electric vehicle manufacturer has new battery electric truck models, and a big new plant to build them in. There's a new premium battery EV in California. New heavy-duty hybrid electric trucks have been publicized by in the U.S., with one of them being developed for retail giant Wal-Mart. New distributors have been named for a line of hybrid electric buses. Prius sedans are available for fleets again. New York State detailed plans to convert more than 400 of its existing hybrids to plug-in operation. All that, and much more, is in the January 15 issue of Fleets & Fuels, replete with Key Contact information. Fleets & Fuels subscribers have it all. Shouldn't YOU subscribe to Fleets & Fuels? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch January 1, 2007 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, The January 1 issue of Fleets & Fuels is dedicated to biomethane. It's a special issue, ten pages, setting forth the great potential for biomethane and detailing some of the projects in Sweden, Switzerland, France and elsewhere in Europe, that are supplying fuel for substantial numbers of vehicles today. Nascent projects in the United States are detailed too, and the issue includes a profile of a Seattle-based company that's leading the charge to tap landfills and other sources of biomethane gas to supply fuel for vehicles in the U.S. It's all in the January 1, 2007 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Shouldn't you subscribe to Fleets & Fuels? Happy New Year! Best Regards, Rich Piellisch December 11, 2006 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, Two Southern California ports float a plan that's to involve, among many other measures, deployment of thousands of diesel-replacing LNG trucks. The CEO of the leading America automaker pledges a plug-in hybrid, one week later a British automotive design specialist details a diesel-fueled plug-in it says can be built economically while achieving 88 miles per gallon. Plans and indeed manufacturing are going forward for approximately 100 hybrid electric trucks, mostly utility bucket trucks, to join two dozen entering service. Industry awaits Washington action to make promised tax breaks for heavy duty hybrids a reality. A compressed natural gas fueling supplier targets forklifts as a major manufacturer affirms that its new line will include options for gaseous fuels. An agency in Texas is having trouble giving away $5 million. Fleets & Fuels readers have all the details, including contact information. Shouldn't you be reading Fleets & Fuels too? Subscribe today. Best Regards, and Happy Merry, Best Regards, Rich Piellisch November 27, 2006 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, Heavy duty hybrid vehicles dominate, as one supplier reports sales totaling 411 of its buses with series electric drives, and we feature a wrap-up of this month's Hybrid Truck Users Forum in San Diego. Regular Fleets & Fuels readers already know all about HTUF. If you'd like to see what's new in heavy duty hybrids (and other alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles, replete with contact information), perhaps you should subscribe to Fleets & Fuels too. Best Regards, Rich Piellisch, Editor Fleets & Fuels San Francisco November 13, 2006 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, "I have never felt so important in my life," outgoing IANGV president Juan Carlos Fracchia said at NGV2006, the world natural gas vehicles meeting in Cairo, after touring the bustling show last week with officials including the Egyptian ministers of petroleum and the environment--and a swarm of local photographers. NGV2006 wrapped up this past Thursday. Fleets & Fuels is pleased to bring you a very special report on the event. It's a somewhat larger issue than usual, with more pages and more pictures, and we think it will prove instructive to anyone in the business of alternative fuels and advanced technology vehicles. Key contact information? Of course. The vehicle pictured here (check out the Egyptian plates!) is a Volkswagen Caddy, stock save for the addition of nine all-composite Type IV CNG tanks affording a single-fill range of more than 1,550 miles. A team of German adventurers is bidding for a Guinness record, driving the car around the world solely on CNG, as part of a project backed by Swagelok. The vehicle was at NGV2006 in Cairo, is as of this writing passing through Diyarbakir, Turkey, and may well come to your town too: check out the Eco-Challenge at www.ecofuel-world-tour.com Fleets & Fuels thanks Clean Energy and FuelMaker and, last but not least, Swagelok for making our own expedition to Cairo possible as well. About that special issue of Fleets & Fuels. Fleets & Fuels readers have it already. Shouldn't you subscribe to Fleets & Fuels? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch, Editor Fleets & Fuels San Francisco October 30, 2006 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, A major Japanese utility outlines plans to replace thousands of its fleet
vehicles with electrics, a Japanese zaibatsu (you know the name) is
revealed as the supplier of key drivetrain components for hybrid
vehicles from GM, and a Chinese automotive research executive says
natural gas is the best way to accustom drivers to the changes
they’ll have to learn to make when moving, someday, from
today’s conventional fuels to hydrogen. October 9, 2006 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, A Japanese automaker counters General Motors with fuel cell vehicle news of its own. The Supreme Court agrees to decides whether carbon dioxide is a pollutant. A U.S.-owned European OEM pulls out of NGVs because they're not profitable enough. A European-owned U.S. truckmaker advances its natural gas truck project. A Canadian will fit American trucks chassis with parallel hybrid drives in hopes that the American manufacturer will sell them. The European NGV association gears up to push for greater use of LNG as a vehicle fuel in Europe. A U.S. busmaker (formerly owned by Europeans) complements its big bus line with smaller buses by buying another U.S. busmaker. A leading manufacturer of tubes and fittings delivers the parts that are crucial to hydrogen vehicles, while continuing its support of NGVs. All that and more is in the October 9 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Fleets & Fuels readers already have the details. Shouldn't you be a Fleets & Fuels reader too? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch September 25, 2006 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, Hydrogen and lithium dominate the September 25 issue of Fleets & Fuels: the lightest element as the driver for fuel cell electric vehicles and the lightest metal as the basis for a new generation of electric car batteries. The biggest American carmaker has revealed plans for the biggest FCV trial ever, and three U.S. firms detail their lithium ion battery plans. A German OEM unveils a hydrogen ICE car. Lithium ion batteries power a new plug-in hybrid conversion offering. There's been a major change in the nascent hydraulic hybrid vehicles business as a major operation changes hands. Separately there's a project to take hydraulic hybrid technology to smaller vehicles. Big Oil is to support biofuels research in California to the tune of $25 million. Environmentalists are furious over DoE's latest proposal under the 1992 Energy Policy Act. It's all in the September 25 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Regular readers have it. Shouldn't you subscribe too? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch September 11, 2006 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, It's a sad, sad date but an appropriate one too to list trends pointing to a world that may finally be moving to more rational use of energy and resources for its transportation needs. North America's natural gas vehicle leader is moving to go public, a $55 million deal for dual-fuel buses in Thailand is to be announced today, there's new progress in electric vehicle drivetrains, there's a new factory for battery electric trucks in Britain, new funding for hybrid port vehicles in California, further action on the part of California regulators to reduce vehicle emissions, and a profile of a Winnipeg-based, internationally oriented gaseous fuel station and component specialist. It's all in the September 11, 2006 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Subscribers have their already. Shouldn't you subscribe too? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch August 28, 2006 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, Hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydraulic hybrid vehicles. One busbuilder buys another, and now looks to have two hybrid electric drivetrain offerings: parallel and series. A major aftermarket product line expansion in natural gas vehicles, and some perspective on NGVs you've likely not seen elsewhere. The skinny on AFS Trinity Power. A world alt fuel vehicles race planned for 2008. All this and more in the August 28 issue of Fleets & Fuels, replete with full contact information. Your competitors already have this information. Shouldn't you be getting Fleets & Fuels too? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch August 14, 2006 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, Why plug-in hybrid electric vehicle advocates think automakers will jump onboard. A partnership for a Class 6 plug-in hybrid electric truck. Hybrid electric buses with Canadian drivelines meeting U.S. Buy America rules. The staggering potential of hydraulic hybrids. Natural gas-fueled hybrid buses. A Texas transit agency moves closer to 100% natural gas. A Southern California engine converter rocks in Asia. Home CNG fueling in Switzerland. Biodiesel processed with methanol made from landfill gas. How the U.S. EPA is trying to recognize hybrids' benefits. It's all in the August, 14, 2006 issue of Fleets & Fuels -- replete with unparalleled contact information. Fleets & Fuels subscribers already have it. Shouldn't you subscribe to Fleets & Fuels? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch July 31, 2006 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, Plug-in hybrid school buses (funded and being ordered). The Tesla Roadster, which will cost at least $80,000 to buy but just a penny a mile to run (shown). A Texas transit agency's switch of 1,200-plus buses to B10 biodiesel. That same agency's buy of 40 parallel hybrid buses. A study to predict the fortunes of biodiesel worldwide using econometric models. A study showing that the U.S. could eliminate Saudi Arabian oil and then some if it enforced existing mileage standards. The first commercial hybrid fuel cell midibus for Europe. How the feds are getting serious about applying genetic engineering to cellulosic ethanol (one state puts up $20 million). A new joint venture in China and a manufacturing deal in France, both for key LNG vehicle components. The fabulous clean vehicle potential of the Los Angeles ports. How the Electric Drive Transportation Association is getting serious about bringing some real illumination to energy-stymied policymakers in Washington this fall. It's all in the July 31 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Subscribers have their copies. Shouldn't you be a subscriber? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch July 10, 2006 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, Tax breaks for compressed natural gas and a twenty-unit solicitation for heavy duty plug-in hybrid buses. A CNG-fueled plug-in hybrid truck. A brand new battery electric car from a heavily credentialed California company (which has new investors). A blazing success in natural gas vehicles. Solicitations for new fuel cell buses. Hydraulic hybrid kits. Biomethane. It's all in the July 10 issue of Fleets & Fuels, replete with key contact information. Shouldn't you subscribe to Fleets & Fuels? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch June 26, 2006 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, LOTS of hybrids and hydrogen news this week, including a hydraulic hybrid with almost unbelievable potential efficiency advantages over battery-and-motor hybrids - the U.S. EPA and a package delivery company have just unveiled a test vehicle (the little gizmo at top right is a computer image of an integrated bent-axis pump motors assembly for driving the hydraulic hybrid's rear wheels). A Japanese automaker confirmed that it's stepping up its plug-in hybrid work and an American one is reportedly planning a plug-in launch (but declined to comment). We identify the supplier of nickel metal hydride batteries for the GM-Saturn Aura hybrid sedan as well as the announced Vue SUV. The NiMHs will also be used for new BRT hybrids for Las Vegas featuring a new and more powerful drivetrain from Germany and San Diego. The buses will be built in Ballymena. San Francisco wants thirty more hybrid buses, 30-footers. A Colorado motor specialist sees hybrids as the key to its future prosperity. Two outfits with the same name have projects involving hydrogen-methane mixes. The one in Canada has a no-GHG plasma process for making hydrogen from natural gas -- carbon is gathered as a solid. The one in Virginia not only offers hydrogen blending and dispensing equipment, but has named a potential buyer, in Mississippi, of 70 hydrogen hybrid internal combustion engine (HHICE) buses. We supply full contact information. We deliver updates on a renewable CNG and biodiesel facility in Ohio, and natural gas vehicles action in Thailand. And we bring news of a wind-assisted solar electric hybrid ferry. It's no joke: the would-be builder says the vessel's $1.5 million price premium can be worked off in four years or less assuming diesel at $3 per gallon. This is the second solar vehicle article we've had in a dozen years of publishing Fleets & Fuels, and both have come this month. Something about the 2006 solstice? All the above and more is replete with real business contact information. It's all in the June 26, 2006 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Shouldn't YOU subscribe to Fleets & Fuels? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch June 12, 2006 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, Coverage this week ranges from the critically mundane to the whimsical. Critical: aftermarket alt fuel conversions will indeed be eligible for new U.S. federal tax credits, the IRS has decided. That means the new incentives are valid for CNG- and propane-fueled vehicles the automakers no longer offer, like Crown Victoria taxis. Whimsical: a California company is offering kits for boosting the electric performance of the Toyota Prius hybrid with solar energy. But with a payback of just four years with gasoline at $4 per gallon, and a boost in mileage performance of 20% to 30%, the PV Prius may prove to be far more than whimsical in the long run. We provide updates on new propane engines, natural gas vehicles action in Europe and Asia, on biodiesel, and both electric and hydraulic hybrids in the United States. It's all in the June 12, 2006 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Fleets & Fuels subscribers have all the details, including key contact information. Shouldn't you subscribe to Fleets & Fuels? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch May 29, 2006 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, Alternative fuel and advanced vehicle action is accelerating on all fronts as oil and gasoline prices soar. We're continuing to devote lots of space to natural gas vehicles, as natural gas prices are quite decidedly lagging the increases elsewhere in the energy sector, and NGVs offer terrific emissions advantages as well. There are lots more CNG buses being ordered and at least one California agency appears to be backing away from hybrids. We update you on adsorbed natural gas technology promising to allow more onboard fuel storage at lower pressure. We outline a Canadian company's scheme for cracking water onboard a heavy duty vehicle - hydrogen and oxygen are injected into the diesel engine, thereby lowering emissions and boosting fuel economy. There are new battery EVs on the scene. Pictured here is a hybrid electric utility truck being deployed in Chicago, where the utility ComEd expects not only to save fuel but to enjoy significant operational advantages. We provide all sorts of details. Shouldn't YOU be this well informed? Shouldn't you subscribe to Fleets & Fuels? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch May 8, 2006 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, We're delivering something a little different this issue, presenting a special report from the European Natural Gas Vehicle Association's 12th annual meeting late last month in Brussels. Biogas was the watchword there, as the fuel has emissions and efficiency advantages over the liquid biofuels that are all the current rage -- if only anyone would notice. How to get attention is the challenge, and will undoubtedly be an issue at the Clean Cities meeting that's getting underway in Phoenix now. Subscribe to Fleets & Fuels now. Best Regards, Rich Piellisch April 24, 2006 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, Record oil prices have been passed straight to the gasoline pump while the price of natural gas stays down. Ethanol and biodiesel garner mass-market attention, hybrids too, and the potential for battery electrics keeps on growing. Photo shows gasoline prices posted 100 yards from Fleets & Fuels headquarters in San Francisco. Clean Energy's price for a gasoline gallon equivalent of CNG last week? $2.229 - an advantage of roughly 30%. BAF Technologies, the California Energy Commission, Emission Solutions, Feel Good Cars (EEStor), Ford, GM, Modec, Daimler's Orion Bus, the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, and Ullit, of France. Cutting edge action at all of them is detailed in the April 24 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Shouldn't you subscribe to Fleets & Fuels? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch April 10, 2006 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, We see momentum gaining for renewable fuels and for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and cite concrete examples of these key long-term trends, Biomethane, fast catching on in Europe, looks particularly strong. An Indiana company has unveiled a series hybrid Class 8 refuse vehicle that's a good candidate for alternative fuels. A name truckmaker has given the go-ahead for a natural gas model. An Arizona start-up has lined up a hybrid bus from China for import, and Toyota says it will have hybrids for fleets -- though not this year. IRS action looms larger than the recent fleet rule lawsuit lost by DoE... we explain. It's all in the April 10 issue of Fleets & Fuels, which subscribers have. Shouldn't you subscribe? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch
Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, Hope springs eternal, and with gasoline prices now topping $2 per gallon as an AVERAGE in the U.S. for the first time, we hope Washington lawmakers may see fit to enact an energy bill with aggressive incentives for alternative technology vehicles. Closer to Earth, we report on WaveCrest's plans for a joint venture to apply its spiral geometry to nickel metal hydride batteries, and we give you 2004 tallies on New Flyer hybrid buses - test fleets are to hit a cumulative million miles of U.S. operation next month. New Ford hybrids, new AC lift trucks, and diesel aircraft soaring in Europe: all in the May 24, 2004 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Why not sign up for a free trial subscription? Best Regards, Rich Piellisch
Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, We're just back from the Tenth Annual Clean Cities meeting in Florida and we rush you a timely report -- including word of some storm clouds on the CC horizon. (It wasn't all doom and gloom: that's Clean Cities director Shelley Launey grabbing a cold one poolside with actor George Wendt.). We give you an upbeat assessment of the Supreme Court's partial rejection of Southern California's alt fuel fleet rules (hint: it may force broader, more legally acceptable action), and a neat summation of the first big round of awards connected with President Bush's hydrogen program. All this and more in the May 10, 2004 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Why not check us out?. Best Regards, Rich Piellisch Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, Sometimes you've just got to go with the flow. The big news last week was Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's personal endorsement (and signing of an Executive Order) to create a 'Hydrogen Highway' network of hydrogen fueling stations in California by 2010. Schwarzenegger signed the order at a ceremony at the hydrogen (and natural gas) fueling station at the University of California at Davis. The governor arrived in a Toyota fuel cell vehicle, which he personally fueled. He departed, if anyone is interested, in a Ford Excursion. Getting less attention but perhaps more important long-term (as natural gas vehicles help the world transition to a hydrogen transportation economy) is a new universal signage logo proposed by the International and European Natural Gas Vehicle Associations. The methane molecule-inspired symbol 'may be the best public relations and communications opportunity yet afforded to the NGV industry,' says ENGVA chief Jeff Seisler. You are seeing it for the first time here. Reliable and economical electric drivetrains are crucial to a fuel cell future too. We outline a plethora of hybrid electric vehicle placements and projects involving organizations as diverse as the Toronto Transit Commission and Germany's ZF Sachs. Diesel, specifically diesel with the sulfur removed, is weighing in as a clean fuel too, and the Diesel Technology Forum is mounting a first-ever exhibit at the Clean Cities meeting in Florida next week as just one of 40 such appearances this year. We profile DTF in the current issue of Fleets & Fuels. Which we'll send you if you ask. Best Regards, Rich Piellisch
April 12, 2004 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, Mass production is sorely needed if electric drive vehicles are to be a success, as attested by new developments in ultracapacitors and hybrid package delivery trucks (FedEx is taking 20, a good start; Governor Schwarzenegger approves). On the horizon is a new threat from diesel as U.S. fuel prices surge: diesel proponents hope to achieve new economies of scale in passenger vehicles. Pre-blended biodiesel in Kansas, funding for diesel-cycle engines that run on natural gas, huge NGV opportunities in China, and new fuel cell projects in Canada are all covered in the April 12, 2004 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Why not sign up to get it? , which is attached. Eaton truck components VP Jim Sweetnam explains the principles of hybrid electric drivetrain operation to TV reporters as the first OptiFleet E700 hybrid electric FedEx trucks with Eaton drives were unveiled in Sacramento. All this and more in the April 12 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Check us out. Best Regards,
Rich Piellisch
April 12, 2004 issue of Fleets & Fuels Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, We're still holding out hope for an energy bill, replete with alt fuel tax credits, given record gasoline prices. As our fearless man in Washington reports, "Bad energy news is good news for AFVs." Closer to Earth, we report on a new name for Texaco Ovonic Battery Systems, and update you on Canada's Azure Dynamics, which has the commercialization of hybrid and now battery electric vehicles firmly in its sights. UQM Technologies too makes its commercialization strategy clearer, and Honda reports a new placement of its FCX fuel cell vehicles in the U.S. and successful cold weather testing of an FCX with a Honda fuel cell stack in Japan (photo). We present details of Dynetek's international CNG cylinder sales with news of new hydrogen tank projects, and on Westport's support of BMW's hydrogen internal combustion engine work - with the hydrogen ICE on the diesel cycle. New York's ABI Research sees some automakers offering diesel cars to compete with hybrids. Dan Sperling of ITS-Davis says the transition to a hydrogen economy may be more a matter of leadership than of expertise. All this and more in the March 29 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Check us out. Best Regards,
Rich Piellisch
Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, The March 15 issue of Fleets & Fuels contains, as usual, news from Asia, Europe and of course the United States. We tell you about new action in hybrids (a vehicle in development for the U.S. Army, fruit of International's new military business segment, is pictured here), including New Flyer buses for Puerto Rico and Enova drivetrains for China, and we profile Bauer Compressors, a firm with prowess in all sorts of markets, prowess that means direct benefits for natural gas vehicle fueling. Were you to subscribe to Fleets & Fuels, you'd have all the details. Check us out! Best Regards,
Rich Piellisch
Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, It looks as if hybrid electric drivetrains are even more of a market reality than we thought, judging by the turnout and terrific content at Calstart's clean heavy duty vehicles conference in Palm Springs late last week. We rush you a special report by F&F correspondent Roger Renstrom. Elsewhere in the West, Boone Pickens' Clean Energy continues to execute its acquisitions strategy, picking up liquefied natural gas delivery and fueling (and some LNG production) assets from rival Applied LNG Technologies. The $30 million deal is to close this month. Canadian-American Hydrogenics is going great guns in fuel cells and the hydrogen to power them, disclosing nearly half a dozen deals ranging from ultracapacitor applications development with Maxwell to sale of a fuel cell power system in Japan. We bring you news of a key Enova Systems power converter on Ford's Focus FCV fuel cell car, and report on Honda's investment in Flexcar, the Seattle car-share outfit that's heavily promoting the Civic Hybrid sedan. All the above, and much more, is detailed in the March 1, 2004 issue of Fleets & Fuels - which, were you to subscribe to Fleets & Fuels, you would have. Best Regards,
Rich Piellisch
Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, Will pumping hydrogen be harder than pumping iron? We've got some skepticism, but if immigrant weightlifter-turned-action-hero Arnold Schwarzenegger can become governor of California, then hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can become a reality -- especially if Schwarzenegger seriously backs them. We give you advance word on what he and new Cal-EPA chief Terry Tamminen are expected to announce next month. We give you another installment of The Year of the Hybrid too. New hybrid passenger cars were unveiled at the auto show in Detroit, the fuel-guzzling U.S. military is getting serious about them, and at least two cities (Albuquerque and Honolulu) have ordered new hybrid buses. The New York Times reported this month on a Toyota executive's claims that the hybrid electric Prius is profitable. We brought you a similar report in December 2001 (just thought we'd mention it). Details on the above, and much much more, in the January 19, 2004 issue of Fleets & Fuels, which, were you to subscribe to Fleets & Fuels, you would have. Best Regards,
Rich Piellisch
Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, First off let us wish you a Happy New Year, if a bit belated, and advise you that the current, first-of-the-new-year issue of Fleets & Fuels is heavy on stories that look ahead. One key priority? The pending federal energy bill. We tell you why. Other reports range from the views of Jeff Seisler on how Europe's drive to hydrogen could benefit natural gas vehicles, to new priorities and the search for a new boss at a pair Washington clean vehicle organizations, to Honda's announcement last month that it's flown a Honda-built business jet with fuel-efficient Honda engines -- evidently a bid to participate in the new light jets that could revolutionize travel in this young century. We profile American Honda and its efforts in fleet NGVs, consumer NGVs, hybrid electric and fuel cell vehicles as well -- and we tell you how the consumer NGVs are seen as priming the public pump for hydrogen. One more: 2004, Year of the Hybrid. We think it will be, in cars and buses, and we list more than half a dozen of the key players, with names and phones and faxes and e-mails of course. All this and more in the January 5, 2004 issue of Fleets & Fuels, which, were you to subscribe to Fleets & Fuels, you would have. Best Regards,
Rich Piellisch
Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, Hybrids hydraulic and electric are in the news this week, as Australia's Permo-Drive has seen its oil-under-pressure system for storing regenerative braking power embraced by Dana Corp for U.S. Army vehicles (possibly hundreds of thousands of U.S. Army vehicles); and Toyota continues its Prius juggernaut, stating that it'll boost production of the electrically assisted gasoline car by 31 percent, and confirming plans for a hybrid electric version of the Highlander SUV. Elsewhere Great Britain has committed to keeping taxes low on natural gas as a vehicle fuel, a boon to advocates there, who have meanwhile formed a new Natural Gas Vehicle Association. AC Propulsion outdoes the automakers again, this time with a plug-in hybrid, and busy Bachman AFV and partner TeleflexGFI see an order for CNG police cars in Dallas paving the way for a certification of a new and improved conversion of the 4.6-liter engine used in the Ford Crown Vic. Their work could help maintain availability of natural gas Crown Victorias even if Ford goes ahead with plans to scuttle the factory car after next year. We profile the airside and landside clean vehicle efforts underway at the San Francisco International Airport too. All this and more in the December 22 issue of Fleets & Fuels - which, were you to subscribe to Fleets & Fuels, you would have. Best Regards,
Rich Piellisch
Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, Deliberations on a new federal energy bill, deemed essential by President Bush on Thursday, were deadlocked as of F&F presstime. The impasse was in large part over ethanol, leaving vital tax credits for other alternative fuels in the lurch. There's far more interesting action elsewhere, ranging from brand new plans for a hydrogen vehicle fueling corridor in Norway to word that the next major sale of 60-foot hybrid electric buses will be in Cleveland. And we tell you why AC Propulsion's showing with a little yellow car at the Michelin Challenge Bibendum is a strong argument in favor of the battery electric vehicle. We bring you news of Nuvera stacks and a conformal fuel tank from Thiokol on Fiat's new fuel cell vehicles, and tell you why the police in Dallas are looking to convert 175 brand new Ford Crown Victoria sedans to CNG (officer safety). We also bring you a rundown of important interdisciplinary work on hydrogen and fuel cell vehicles at the University of California at Davis. All the above, and lots more, replete with key contact information (links too!), in the November 3 issue of Fleets & Fuels, which, were you to subscribe to Fleets & Fuels, you would have. Best Regards,
Rich Piellisch
Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, Tomorrow may see a historic vote in the U.S. Congress granting generous tax credits for the use of alternative fuels. If so-called CLEAR Act provisions are indeed included in omnibus energy legislation, it will be an industry-maker for natural gas vehicles and a terrific boost for propane and other alternatives as well. Hybrid electric vehicles continue their market penetration, as Canada's Purolator is buying 30 Azure Dynamics-converted Ford trucks for Toronto service trails, which could lead to placement of 400 of the series hybrids per year beginning in 2005. Ebus has placed new hybrid buses with Indianapolis and Knoxville, and GM Allison will trumpet the sale of more than 200 articulated New Flyer parallel hybrids in the Seattle area tomorrow. (You read about that one in Fleets & Fuels first, three months ago, we modestly remind.) Honda has outfitted its latest fuel cell vehicle with its own fuel cell stack, which it says is better than other manufacturers' fuel cell stacks, and Dynetek is supplying the hydrogen storage cylinders for a new Mitsubishi fuel cell car, the Japanese automaker's first. Meanwhile the U.S. EPA is worried that fuel cells may pose two new environmental threats: a superfund problem as outmoded gasoline stations with abandoned underground storage tanks effectively become hazardous waste sites, and new disposal problems as fuel cells wear out: they contain nasty metals and difficult to incinerate fluorine membrane compounds, says an EPA study. The good news in natural gas vehicles is that diesel is going to get more expensive as new emission regulations take effect. Also at the just-concluded national NGVs meeting in Las Vegas, new details on the true cost of U.S. gasoline were released: it's on the order of $5.28 per gallon, the bulk of it paid by taxpayers for U.S. military forces in the Middle East. In electric vehicles, watch for advanced e-bike developer Electric Vehicle Technologies to come out with larger and larger vehicles, progressing to scooters and ATVs and perhaps beyond, and for the Illinois company to release details of proprietary fuel cell technology, and more, next year. All this, and more, in the October 20, 2003 issue of Fleets & Fuels, which, were you to subscribe to Fleets & Fuels, you would have. Best Regards,
Rich Piellisch
Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, This week the Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition holds its annual meeting. In Las Vegas. We hereby advise readers that there may be some extra fireworks there. Hint: the organization is, well, reorganizing. We advise readers too on how one well connected alt fuels firm is going to tell the Supreme Court why Southern California should be able to keep its new rules on fleet purchases, and how one of the Big Three automakers is extending a special offer on natural gas vehicles through year-end. We give you our take on the just-wrapped Michelin Challenge Bibendum, where a practical hydrogen storage technology was promoted, as well as a hydraulic system for regenerative braking by a major industrial player, and an economical route to fuel cell cars, and the first ever diesel cycle truck that runs solely on natural gas. We profile BusWest, a DaimlerChrysler company that's bringing a new level of service to the Southern California bus business, with a wide range of alt fuel vehicles on offer. All this and more in the September 29 issue of Fleets & Fuels. Fleets & Fuels subscribers have it now. Best Regards,
Rich Piellisch
Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, Maybe it's the stubborn economy and the general clenchpenny feel to commerce today. We're noticing a trend back to conversions as Stewart & Stevenson is upfitting existing buses for hybrid electric operation (Houston Metro is saving about $110,000 on each of four New Flyers), FMC is offering to refit Commander 15 airport baggage belt loaders for all-electric operation (at less than a fifth the price of a new electric machine) and Ford is being pressured to give its warranty blessing to post-2004 Crown Victorias modified for CNG, rendering them good as factory new. Ford, get with it! Elsewhere an all-in-one car dealership and filling station for a whole gamut of alternative fuels has opened in San Diego. Congress is going to come back and argue about energy, and will perhaps deign to notice the importance of proposed alt fuel tax provisions, and will perhaps include them in a new energy law. We report on what many see as a bright future for electric airport ground support equipment (noting a new hybrid electric tractor tug on the market), and we tell you why California's Anuvu thinks PEM fuel cells may be commercially viable for cars sooner than most people expect. There's a new natural gas vehicle association forming too... All this and more in the August 25 issue of Fleets & Fuels, which were you to subscribe to Fleets & Fuels, you would have. Best Regards,
Rich Piellisch
Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, We're at a crossroads. U.S. government energy policy is aimed squarely at a hydrogen future and a just-released solicitation to industry offers as much as $200 million to develop a hydrogen infrastructure and storage. Meanwhile a growing chorus says not much is being done with the alternatives available today, even where there are direct paths to hydrogen -- with young and eager industries ready to share their considerable experience in gaseous fuels. We outline the U.S. DoE hydrogen strategy in this issue of Fleets & Fuels, and we let you know why some people remain skeptical about the Bush energy plan. Our advice? Get in on it. We report too on plans for a world-scale liquefied natural gas (one of those paths to hydrogen) terminal in Los Angeles/Long Beach, on more action in the Pacific Northwest for hybrid vehicles small and big, and on two different fuel cell electric aircraft projects. All this and more in the August 11, 2003 issue of Fleets & Fuels, which, were you to subscribe to Fleets & Fuels, you would have. Best Regards,
Rich Piellisch
Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, We sent the newsletter out early this week because we want the world to know about the largest electric road vehicle order ever: two Seattle-area agencies are negotiating to buy 233 articulated buses with hybrid-electric drivetrains. The deal, including 30 conventional diesels, is expected to be worth $170 million. There's mixed news in natural gas vehicles, as Cummins Westport has notched its first order (and potentially its biggest order ever) for the L Gas Plus engine, and Ford has decided to drop the dedicated-CNG Crown Victoria from its alt fuel vehicle line-up. The good news is that there are still CNG Crown Vics available. Details on these stories and many more (including a wrap-up of Waste Management's cutting edge work in NGVs), including extensive direct contact information, may be found in the July 28 issue of Fleets & Fuels, which, were you to subscribe to Fleets & Fuels, you would have. Best Regards,
Rich Piellisch
Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, We sent the newsletter out early this week because we want the world to know about the largest electric road vehicle order ever: two Seattle-area agencies are negotiating to buy 233 articulated buses with hybrid-electric drivetrains. The deal, including 30 conventional diesels, is expected to be worth $170 million. There's mixed news in natural gas vehicles, as Cummins Westport has notched its first order (and potentially its biggest order ever) for the L Gas Plus engine, and Ford has decided to drop the dedicated-CNG Crown Victoria from its alt fuel vehicle line-up. The good news is that there are still CNG Crown Vics available. Details on these stories and many more (including a wrap-up of Waste Management's cutting edge work in NGVs), including extensive direct contact information, may be found in the July 28 issue of Fleets & Fuels, which, were you to subscribe to Fleets & Fuels, you would have. Best Regards,
Rich Piellisch
Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, We give nearly a page of this issue of the newsletter to a non-story, a foregone conclusion, a futile effort, and what one NGV advocate last week told us was a 'waste of time.' We refer to the U.S. Energy Department's formal proposal earlier this year not to move toward a requirement for city and private fleets to use alternative fuels, and the subsequent closing of the obligatory comment period on the DoE non-move. Aside from the threats of environmentalists to sue when DoE finally closes the already slamming door (and by no means count the enviros out, as they've apparently got the EPAct statute on their side), and an impassioned argument by Nic van Vuuren of Clean Cities, there was little to cheer in the DoE docket. Not with a bang but a whimper... In far more positive news, the British diesel fueling specialist CH Jones is weighing into compressed natural gas, promising significant investment and to bring CNG to the established fueling locations that had been lacking, using an existing card payment system for its new KeyGas service. ExxonMobil's Exxon CNG operation in Britain is getting more active too. Ever-busy Cummins Westport says ten of its compression ignition natural gas engines will be tested by two trucking firms along Highway 401 connecting Toronto and Windsor-Detroit, Canada's busiest road. Westport's looking for CNG fleets willing to test the hydrogen-CNG blend hythane as well. The California Fuel Cell Partnership has extended its original four-year charter for another four, and gas- and hydro-rich Norway has established a National Hydrogen Commission. Boeing, which is building a fuel cell airplane to better gauge the technology's potential aloft, has picked Britain's Intelligent Energy as its PEM fuel cell supplier. In hybrid electric vehicles, New Jersey Transit will bring the first of three series hybrid transit buses and the first of four parallel hybrid over-the-road 'cruiser' buses into operation this month. Both types were designed and outfitted by San Diego's ISE Research. All this and more, in the July 14, 2003 issue of Fleets & Fuels, which, were you to subscribe to Fleets & Fuels, you would have. Best Regards,
Rich Piellisch
Dear Fleets & Fuels Reader, We give nearly a page of this issue of the newsletter to a non-story, a foregone conclusion, a futile effort, and what one NGV advocate last week told us was a 'waste of time.' We refer to the U.S. Energy Department's formal proposal earlier this year not to move toward a requirement for city and private fleets to use alternative fuels, and the subsequent closing of the obligatory comment period on the DoE non-move. Aside from the threats of environmentalists to sue when DoE finally closes the already slamming door (and by no means count the enviros out, as they've apparently got the EPAct statute on their side), and an impassioned argument by Nic van Vuuren of Clean Cities, there was little to cheer in the DoE docket. Not with a bang but a whimper... In far more positive news, the British diesel fueling specialist CH Jones is weighing into compressed natural gas, promising significant investment and to bring CNG to the established fueling locations that had been lacking, using an existing card payment system for its new KeyGas service. ExxonMobil's Exxon CNG operation in Britain is getting more active too. Ever-busy Cummins Westport says ten of its compression ignition natural gas engines will be tested by two trucking firms along Highway 401 connecting Toronto and Windsor-Detroit, Canada's busiest road. Westport's looking for CNG fleets willing to test the hydrogen-CNG blend hythane as well. The California Fuel Cell Partnership has extended its original four-year charter for another four, and gas- and hydro-rich Norway has established a National Hydrogen Commission. Boeing, which is building a fuel cell airplane to better gauge the technology's potential aloft, has picked Britain's Intelligent Energy as its PEM fuel cell supplier. In hybrid electric vehicles, New Jersey Transit will bring the first of three series hybrid transit buses and the first of four parallel hybrid over-the-road 'cruiser' buses into operation this month. Both types were designed and outfitted by San Diego's ISE Research. All this and more, in the July 14, 2003 issue of Fleets & Fuels, which, were you to subscribe to Fleets & Fuels, you would have. Best Regards,
Rich Piellisch
Dear Reader, All of us who believe in clean fuels and in fleets as their best market have for years eyed wistfully those ubiquitous and ever-busier package delivery trucks in their famous brown, and white-red-and-blue liveries. Coincidentally or not, FedEx last week unveiled its long-awaited hybrid electric delivery truck, and plans to deploy 20; while UPS, which already operates nearly 2,000 natural gas and propane vehicles, said it would field two different fuel cell vans, one this year, both to be built with DaimlerChrysler. A DaimlerChrysler Sprinter van, in UPS livery, is shown at right. In the Department of the Long-Term Disappointments and Hopes Renewed, the Bush administration said it plans never to apply decade-old EPAct alt fuel vehicle requirements to private and city fleets while, on the brighter side, California Energy Commission and Air Resources Board staffers are calling for an aggressive program to double the mileage efficiency of all consumer vehicles (yes, those SUVs would be covered) and achieve 10 percent alt fuel use, across the board, by 2020. We're just back from the Ninth Annual Clean Cities meeting, in Palm Springs. It was a terrific learning experience and font of news, much of which we report in the May 26, 2003 issue of Fleets & Fuels, which, were you to subscribe to Fleets & Fuels, you would have. You would also have immediate access, with telephone numbers and e-mail addresses, to key contact people at the following organizations:
Best Regards,
Rich Piellisch
To the Knacker— The U.S. Postal Service is replacing its 500 Ford battery electric delivery trucks, most of them deployed in Los Angeles, with gasoline minivans, ending a project that some (Fleets & Fuels included) once believed effectively vaulted the battery EV into commercial respectability... blame anthrax, blame the batteries, it was a confluence of factors and unfortunate timing that doomed the program
Better News from the NGV World— NexGen Fueling is offering deep discounts on limited numbers of its 60-gallon liquefied natural gas tanks in an effort to foster development of new medium-duty vehicles... paving the way is an LNG-fueled variant of the Pelican street cleaning machine from Elgin Sweepers, some 30,000 of which have been sold... the City of Long Beach is taking 20
CARB Acts— The California Air Resources Board voted late last week to retain the state's zero emission vehicles sales mandate, allowing automakers to opt out of the existing program structure if they agree to collectively field 250 fuel cell vehicles by 2008, most of them from Honda (48 FCVs), Ford (50), General Motors (62) and Toyota (56)... or, OEMs could satisfy half of the FCV minimum with 10 battery electrics for each of the above FCVs... or, if they stay with the existing program, large numbers of non-ZEV clean vehicles, including hybrids and natural gas vehicles, may be used to make up the rule's nominal 10 percent ZEV requirements... or, the whole thing may be changed again
New French Canadian— A group of companies including the Hydro-Quebec utility and an affiliate of the French aviation giant Dassault is planning a new electric vehicle to be powered by lithium-metal-polymer batteries from Hydro-Quebec subsidiary Avestor... the LMP batteries will drive a motor from Technologies M4, also a subsidiary of Hydro Quebec... 'excellent near-term growth potential' is seen in Europe
Prius II— Toyota targets fleets with 2004 Prius hybrid said to boast better performance and lower SULEV emissions... there'll be many more to go around too, as the sales plan calls for 36,000 to be placed in the U.S., up from about 12,000 for model year 2003
Flex Power— General Motors is readying a hybrid pickup truck that will use regenerative braking-derived electricity to power accessories when the truck (and its engine) are stopped in traffic, and will have two standard 120-volt electric outlets providing up to 20 amps for electric tools or camping gear, or other items that might otherwise require a separate generator... a new locking system will allow a driver to secure the vehicle with the engine running to provide external electricity while parked
Technocarb Approvals— Canada's Technocarb Equipment is widening its offerings in gaseous fuel vehicles, providing kits primarily for propane/LPG conversions but offering hardware for natural gas operation as well... new U.S. EPA approvals are in hand
ENRG to Be Clean Energy— ENRG, the former Pickens Fuel, will soon be the former ENRG, as the company is to change its name early next month to Clean Energy Fuels Corp at the behest of chairman Boone Pickens... new business for ENRG-Clean Energy includes a pending contract, which could bring revenues of some $34 million over five years, to supply liquefied natural gas in the Phoenix area, and a deal to build and operate a CNG fueling station at a BP outlet at New York City's LaGuardia Airport
Soap and Water— Four 1.5-kilowatt PEM units drawing fuel from a Hydrogen on Demand(tm) system from Millennium Cell are to augment the standard battery power train on a 30-foot water taxi by Duffy Electric Boat, allowing the vessel to travel farther, or to charge its batteries while it's running... the system using Power-X proton exchange membrane fuel cells from Anuvu is to be integrated by Seaworthy Systems of Essex, Conn. and enter service in Newport Beach, Calif. by August
Fuel Cells in Vancouver— Organizers of June's Hydrogen and Fuel Cells 2003 conference and trade show in Vancouver have amassed an impressive list of exhibitors, and have lined up too an impressive list of presenters covering automakers, fuel cell developers, government agencies, visionary consultancies and the world of finance... the meeting is being held at Vancouver's Westin Bayshore Resort & Marina June 8-11
Clean Cities Surge— Organizers of the Ninth National Clean Cities Conference & Exhibition are beginning to feel that the gathering will be the best Clean Cities annual of all... pre-registrations total 540, far more than double the number of people pre-registered for Oklahoma City last year... more than 60 exhibitors are lined up for the meeting, to be held May 18-21 in Palm Springs, Calif.
FuelMaker (F&F StrategiesTM)— Canadian compressor manufacturer FuelMaker is targeting fleets of 25 to 50 vehicles with a new Mini Fast-Fill package for CNG fueling, at the same time it's readying about 120 of its brand new Phill units, for home CNG fueling, for pre-production trials with upwards of half a dozen U.S. utilities
Listings in the April 28, 2003 issue of Fleets & Fuels
Bush H Bill Passes— The U.S. House of Representatives has approved an energy bill that includes President Bush's $1.7 billion program to develop hydrogen and fuel cells for transportation... U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham praised the development... he also made the rounds of Silicon Valley following an information technology conference there, paying a visit to DoE contractor Symyx... that's Abraham (right) with Symyx CEO Steven Goldby in photo
Moyer Program Threatened— Diesel engines are now being made cleaner, reducing the advantage of natural gas fuel, the California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition warns
Begging to Differ— Director of Clean Cities efforts in Hampton Roads pens a letter to Energy Secretary Abraham advising the top DoE official that there are domestic alternatives to imported oil available TODAY... we also quote James Worden and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (she's not kidding when it comes to EVs) as they strongly urge the California Air Resources Board to stand by its ZEV mandate, which is up for a vote later this month
DRV's Network— DRV Energy is lining up distributors for natural gas aftermarket conversion kits for General Motors engines for which it's secured U.S. EPA ULEV approval... the port-sequential, fuel-injected kits are compatible with General Motors' OBD systems, and allow for bi-fuel conversions of GM vehicles with 4.3-, 5.3- and heavy duty 6.0-liter engines... they afford operators a wider range of vehicle choice, and also allow fleets to buy later in the year, after the OEMs have stopped taking alt fuel vehicle orders
GM Beats AFVs Target— General Motors surpassed its new dealer goal for model year 2003 alternative fuel vehicles by 25 percent, signing up 125 new dealers instead of the targeted 100... the program involves training at least one technician and one salesperson at each dealership handling GM's natural gas- and E85/ethanol-fueled vehicles
Azure Advances— Five hybrid electric vehicles with drivetrain technology from Canada's Azure Dynamics are to be route-tested by Canada Post, Azure reports, noting too a new deal to develop hybrid electric taxis with Britain's London Taxis International
PosiCharge for Delta, Dekas Too— FMC Technologies and Delta Air Lines are planning to evaluate new lead acid batteries, and fast-charging, in a large, fully electrified 'Commander 15' aircraft container loader being tested at Orlando International Airport, near FMC's home base in Florida
Norway's Utsira Island Project— Norsk Hydro's Hydro Energy unit has gotten the go-ahead for a project to demonstrate hydrogen fuel cells in tandem with wind energy on the island of Utsira, off the Norwegian coast... a 1,200-kilowatt, twin-turbine wind generation system will employ hydrogen as an energy storage medium, generating electricity via fuel cell technology when needed in times of calm
Shell in Iceland— A hydrogen station opening this month in Reykjavik will carry the Shell name, Shell Hydrogen reports, and as such 'will be the first Shell branded hydrogen station built at a Shell retail site anywhere in the world...' the facility, which uses electrolysis hardware from Norway's Norsk Hydro, will fuel three fuel cell buses to be run on Reykjavik's streets on a commercial basis by Straeto, the local bus company
Quantum Fuel Systems (F&F StartegiesTM)— Southern California firm pursues OEM business and will branch into gaseous fuel component sales too, including regulators and a new line of Type IV CNG tanks, as it bets on a hydrogen future with General Motors as an equity partner
Listings in the April 14, 2003 issue of Fleets & Fuels
ZEV Mandate After All?— The California Air Resources Board, giving new hope to backers of pure electric vehicles, on Friday directed its staff to rework a proposal that would have allowed automakers to opt out of the state's battered zero emission vehicle sales mandate... the option to field fuel cell vehicles instead is to be changed to include its own option to field so-called fuel-cell equivalent vehicles, such as battery electrics and maybe even plug-in hybrids -- which would have to be deployed in far larger numbers... CARB chairman Alan Lloyd praised automakers for their fuel cell efforts but also voiced support for the California ZEV mandate at agency hearings last week
More Options— Would-be operators of natural gas-fueled compact Chevy S-10s and of larger General Motors pickups with crew cabs will be able to get those GM vehicles, and many more, now that Oklahoma's DRV Energy has secured U.S. EPA approval of conversion kits for no fewer than three GM engines... Canada's Eco Fuel Systems is supplying the edi/Eco digital injection brains of the conversion kits, which yield (now certified) ULEV vehicles
Far More Energy Efficient— ISE Research reports that one of its hydrogen-fueled fuel cell buses has shown real-world energy efficiency far better than that of CNG... the vehicle is a 30-foot El Dorado National E-Z Rider bus with a fuel cell from UTC and Siemens Elfa drivetrain components... it's now being refitted with Zebra sodium nickel chloride batterie
Enova-Hyundai— Enova Systems and Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries have finalized their agreement to set up an advanced technology corporation for R&D, initially to be based at Enova headquarters in Torrance, Calif.
Fleet of Five— American Honda says it's on track to deliver four more Honda FCX fuel cell vehicles to the City of Los Angeles this spring, augmenting the car delivered in December that's now accumulated upwards of 1,000 in-service miles... Honda has opted to use ultracapacitors in lieu of batteries for the vehicle's regenerative braking, and while the automaker's not saying, the 5,000-psi hydrogen fuel tank supplier is believed to be Structural Composites Industries
Hydrogenics Gets Grants— Canada- and New York State-based Hydrogenics, a close partner of General Motors in fuel cell vehicle development, has gotten a Canadian government grant of $620,000 (Canadian) to help develop, demonstrate and commercialize hydrogen fueling technology... a first project targets a hydrogen fueling apparatus based on a natural-gas reformer, and the second a mobile fueling station based on Hydrogenics' proprietary electrolysis technology
New Look for Electric Drive Group— The Electric Drive Transportation Association is sporting a new look, replacing the old EVAA logo on its website and elsewhere... EDTA is the former Electric Vehicle Association of the Americas, which took the new name on the first of the year to reflect the fact that its members and the products they bring to the marketplace have moved far beyond the battery electric vehicle and now embrace hybrid and fuel cell electric vehicles, all sharing electric drive technology
The Battery Lives— A combination of greatly improved battery life and projected cost reductions for batteries and other components are steadily making electric drive vehicles (pure EVs, engine-hybrid EVs and plug-in hybrid EVs) cost-competitive with gasoline vehicles, even in full size cars and at relatively low production volumes, says a new evaluation by the HEV Working Group, a collaboration of utilities, regulatory agencies, automakers and others led by EPRI, the Electric Power Research Institute
Hypercar Expands— Colorado's Hypercar, a staunch advocate of lightweight hybrid electric and other advanced vehicles it sees leading to sustainable, economical transportation future, is expanding, working now to staff a new 5,000-square-foot engineering facility in Glenwood Springs
H2PS 2003 in December— Maine's Intertech is launching a new conference, the Hydrogen Production and Storage Forum, to be held December 3-5 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Washington, D.C.
Propane Vehicle Council (F&F StrategiesTM)— A born-again Propane Vehicle Council, boasting a new organization and a new boss, is working to capitalize on and enhance the status of propane/liquid petroleum gas as 'number one' among alternative fuels— there are more than 270,000 propane-fueled on-road vehicles in the United States, the association says, and 8 million worldwide... PVC's redoubled efforts are aimed at off-road vehicle markets too, with a special emphasis on forklifts
Listings in the March 31, 2003 issue of Fleets & Fuels
California ZEVs, R.I.P?— Staff of the state air agency opts to emphasize the conventional clean cars that are on the road today, proposing to give automakers the option of following the agency's zero emission vehicles sales rule or of fielding a modest number of fuel cell vehicles instead... the California Air Resources Board is to vote on the proposal by its staff immediately following hearings, which promise to be lively, in Sacramento March 27-28
NABI for L.A. Artics— North American Bus Industries is on its way to a $138.9 million contract with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority for NABI to supply LACMTA with 200 advanced-design, 60-foot, low-floor articulated buses powered by compressed natural gas... the articulated CNG vehicles will be used on BRT (bus rapid transit) routes
L Gas Plus— Cummins Westport is planning to fleet test a new natural gas-fueled engine, L Gas Plus, in the second half of this year... the L Gas Plus is a derivative of the company's 8.3-liter C Gas Plus, with a longer stroke yielding a displacement of 8.9 liters and more power: up to 320 horsepower
Iceland Cometh— Major steps toward establishing the world's first hydrogen economy are being taken this month as Norsk Hydro, the giant Norwegian utility, has shipped a hydrolysis-based hydrogen generator, replete with compressors and a direct vehicle filling system, to Iceland for deployment by the international joint venture Islandsk NyOrka (Icelandic New Energy)... it'll fuel a trio of three hydrogen fuel cell buses from DaimlerChrysler that are to ply normal transit routes in the capital Reykjavik for two years
Two In One— Canada's Alternative Fuel Systems is promoting a new fuel injector, the Gs Series, it says can work with wholly dry (LCNG) or with oil-containing natural gas, or with propane/LPG, and as such can simplify parts purchasing for automakers offering several varieties of alternative fuel vehicle
CLEAR Act Is Back— Alternative fuel vehicles, seemingly forgotten in Washington given the recent embrace of hydrogen by President Bush, are again getting attention in the U.S. Congress, most notably with the re-introduction of the CLEAR Act, for Clean Efficient Automobiles Resulting from Advanced Car Technologies, by Senator Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican... 'This groundbreaking legislation will bolster America's energy independence and protect the environment by boosting the use of alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles,' said the Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition, 'paving the pathway to the hydrogen future...'
Eurostronger— Canada's Stuart Energy is stepping up efforts in Europe, selling equipment for hydrogen vehicle fueling to the Sydkraft utility in MalmÒ, Sweden; and completing its buy of the European hydrogen producer Vandenborre Technologies
Shell in Luxembourg— Shell Hydrogen is to provide funding and knowhow for a hydrogen fueling station in Luxembourg... it will be built at the city's main bus station, and will support a trio of fuel cell buses as part of the European Union's Clean Urban Transport for Europe, or CUTE program
Shell-GM in Washington— Shell Hydrogen and General Motors are 'combining resources to help make hydrogen fuel cell vehicles a commercially viable reality...' a hydrogen fueling pump at a Shell retail gasoline station in Washington, D.C. will support a fleet of HydroGen3 minivans, based on GM's Opel Zafira
Trillium Wraps Los Angeles— Trillium USA has completed a CNG fueling capacity upgrade for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority five weeks ahead of schedule
Ferries— San Francisco's Water Transit Authority has gotten a pledge of $2.5 million in further federal funding to build what it calls 'the world's first fuel cell powered commuter ferry...' the money could be hand in six months or so, and the vessel could sail by 2006
Flywheels— Seattle- and Livermore, Calif.-based AFS Trinity Power is getting $1 million in U.S. Department of Transportation support for 'ruggedizing' flywheel energy storage systems for hybrid electric trucks and buses
The Delchev Turbine— A Southern California inventor named Nick Delchev is seeking support for a new type of turbine engine supporters say 'emits little more than steam through its exhaust and could contribute to freeing our nation from petroleum dependence...' the engine runs on a benign, non-flammable mixture of water, hydrogen peroxide and sugar
The Fleet's the Thing— And that's why the Natural Gas vehicle Coalition is pulling out the stops to attract new and existing fleet users of NGVs to its annual meeting this fall in Las Vegas
SLF 200s for Omnitrans— San Bernardino-based Omnitrans has ordered 12 compressed natural gas-fueled SLF 200 buses from DaimlerChrysler's Thomas Dennis... the vehicles will have roof-mounted all-composite fuel tanks from General Dynamics (the former Lincoln) and B Gas Plus engines from Cummins Westport
CNG for DWP— The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, long a supporter of electric vehicles, is completing a pair of GreenField-equipped CNG fueling stations in support of tree-trimming and aerial boom trucks, and still-to-be-bought Ford F-150 pickups and Honda Civic GX sedans... as many as nine more LADWP stations could be built
Idling Answers— Two companies are offering two very different ways of allowing big rig truckers to shut their engines down when they rest: one is installation of a small APU on the vehicle and the other is a pay-as-you-go infrastructure solution
Listings in the March 17, 2003 issue of Fleets & Fuels
Two Dozen FedEx Hybrids, or More?— FedEx is negotiating with Eaton for as many as 25 hybrid electric trucks that could represent the next generation of low-emission, fuel-efficient delivery vehicles for the overnight package specialist... the design is believed to feature a Freightliner chassis, conventionally fueled Detroit Diesel engine, and lithium ion batteries from Hitachi... there's early talk of other package firms joining in the program too
Gas for AC Transit— Oakland, Calif.-based AC Transit is gearing up for a test of a new Westport-Cycle engine in buses to be fueled by liquefied natural gas... it'll be the first such trial of the new ISMG engine from Cummins Westport as AC evaluates the 11-liter natural gas powerplant in two 40-foot vehicles from North American Bus Industries
$30 Million— ENRG is talking up a pair of signed contracts for natural gas fueling for Boston's Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority... the contracts are together valued at some $30 million, ENRG says, including design, construction, equipping and operating two CNG fueling stations, and supplying fuel, for ten years
ALT for L.A. Refuse— Applied LNG Technologies is finalizing a deal to supply liquefied natural gas for two fueling facilities supporting city refuse vehicles in Los Angeles
Jumping the Gun?— Creating a hydrogen market by converting existing natural gas vehicles to run on hydrogen blends might be more trouble than it's worth, say NGV experts who are skeptical about the strategy being described by Department of Energy officials in Washington
Who Are the Gas Gaugers?— The forces driving up natural gas prices are making gasoline and diesel more expensive too, says one key supplier of the clean burning fuel... long term contracts, he claims, allow his company to continue to beat the conventional fuel competition
Tempe Heavy Duty— The 3rd Annual Calstart-Weststart Clean Heavy Duty Vehicle Conference in Tempe, Ariz. last month saw discussion of a broad assortment of emissions- (and noise-) reducing strategies for heavy duty vehicles, ranging from cleaner diesels via any number of in-cylinder and aftertreatment techniques to promotion of the current fashionable favorite, hydrogen
Piece By Piece— Southwest Research Institute, on behalf of SunLine Transit and the U.S. Army's National Automotive Center, is replacing belt-driven components on a Class 8 Peterbilt tractor with electric units driven by a 5-kilowatt auxiliary power unit from General Dynamics' C4 Systems, based on a solid oxide fuel cell from Acumentrics... the truck was on show at the WestStart-Calstart meeting in Tempe
Oshkosh Likes Capacitors— Targeting an overall weight reduction in its vehicles, Oshkosh truck has opted for high-power capacitors instead of batteries or other devices for storage on its hybrid trucks, which have received significant new federal funding for their development
Home Reformers— Small-scale steam reforming of natural gas is the key to an economical hydrogen infrastructure, says Virginia's H2Gen Innovations, which plans to begin beta testing a pair of hydrogen fueling appliances this summer
Stuart's HES— Stuart Energy has unveiled a Toronto hydrogen fueling facility it says demonstrates its basic business strategy for the elemental fuel: a combination of 'intelligent' stationary and vehicular hydrogen installations, including emergency power back-up for buildings with hardware that will someday serve to fuel vehicles too... component suppliers include fellow Canadians Ballard and Dynetek
Palm Springs Hydrogen— Officials of the Department of Energy's Clean Cities program are stressing their educational and outreach expertise as a way to heighten their participation in President Bush's hydrogen initiative, which is organized along different lines in the huge federal agency... the Ninth National Clean Cities Conference & Exhibition is slated for May 18-21 in Palm Springs, Calif. a hot bed of hydrogen activity given the presence of host SunLine Transit
CHA in June— Canadians have vowed to maintain their world lead in fuel cells in the wake of President Bush's trumpeting a major new program for the technology in the U.S., and have lined up a stellar schedule of speakers for the organization's June meeting in Vancouver
Hydrogen 700— Canada's Powertech Labs is working with Japan's Kokan Drum on development of 700 bar / 10,000 psi hydrogen storage systems... automotive OEMs including DaimlerChrysler, Ford, Hyundai, Nissan, PSA Peugeot-Citroën, and Toyota are co-operating in the Hydrogen 700 project, Powertech says
Energy Scramble, 2003-Style— Energy legislation plans unveiled late last week might almost sound a death knell for 'traditional' alternative fuels, as it's clear that Republican congressional leaders are busily jumping on the Bush hydrogen bandwagon... a discussion draft from a Texas Republican Joe Barton doesn't even mention natural gas or propane vehicles
Permo-Drive Technologies (F&F StrategiesTM)— New South Wales- and Michigan-based Permo-Drive Technologies is trumpeting a hydraulic accumulator for short-term energy storage on hybrid electric vehicles, Permo-Drive improvements include reduced weight, advanced electronics, and an in-shaft design
Listings in the March 3, 2003 issue of Fleets & Fuels
$1.2 Billion for Hydrogen— Advanced technology vehicles hit the big time this past week as President Bush promised, in his State of the Union address to a Joint Session of the U.S. Congress, $1.2 billion to help U.S. industry commercialize hydrogen fuel cell vehicles... skeptics hope that the program, which includes some $720 in new funding over five years, results in some real product from the domestic automakers
Hybrid NABI Compobuses— North American Bus Industries has at least two electric drive vehicle projects, one involving a fuel cell installation by ISE ThunderVolt and the other a pair of hybrid electric vehicles to be fueled by compressed natural gas
Weight Reduction— Vehicle weight is emerging as an issue for designers of hybrid electric vehicles, and EV industry pioneer Ray Geddes is offering a solution: a lightweight stainless steel structure by Michigan's Autokinetics... it's being viewed most favorably by manufacturers in Asia, Geddes says
A Vegas First— A U.S. Department of Energy-backed facility in Las Vegas uses natural gas reformation and fuel cell technology to produce hydrogen and electricity, and even a CNG-hydrogen blend... Costs of $10.8 million for the five-year project were split equally between lead contractor Air Products and DoE... it's a technology showcase for about a dozen companies
Already Beyond the E-Bike— Electric Vehicle Technologies is promoting a new line of electric bicycles with a proprietary package of brushless DC motors and controls it says makes them the 'world's most technologically advanced...' the Skokie, Ill.-based company is moving beyond the e-bicycle, unveiling developmental scooters (shown) and reporting work on an all-terrain vehicle and even a proprietary fuel cell
Electric Electric— Electric Fuel and partners including General Electric have moved into Phase III testing, in Las Vegas, of the all-electric hybrid bus they're promoting as the only real option for zero emission transit vehicles... the bus is a hybrid in that it has an electric drive system replete with regenerative braking using ultracapacitors, that gets the bulk of its electricity from a powerplant requiring fuel... in this case however the primary energy source is not a mechanical engine, but rather an 18-module array of Electric Fuel's high capacity zinc air batteries, which are 'recharged' by having their spent zinc anodes replaced
Dynetek's on the Model U— Dynetek Industries is supplying 10,000 psi hydrogen fuel tanks for Ford's Model U concept car, bringing to more than half a dozen the number of hydrogen vehicles using the Canadian's lightweight, thinwall aluminum and carbon fiber pressure vessels... a drivable vehicle incorporating many of the Model U's technologies is to be unveiled in mid-year... Dynetek president Robb Thompson, who joined as CFO in March 2000 and helped take the company public, has been named to the company's board
The Devil Is (Was) in the Details— Lawyers and other officials of Ford and Kamkorp Microelectronics were hard at it behind closed doors in Oslo as of F&F presstime Friday, working to close Ford's sale of its Th!nk Nordic battery electric vehicle operation in Aurskog, Norway to the Swiss firm (the deal closed early Saturday morning)
Fuel Cell Pro-Gator— A Solectria drivetrain, PEM stack from Hydrogenics and a hydrogen tank from Dynetek are among the key components on a developmental, fuel cell-powered version of a Pro-Gator CWV being built by John Deere ePower Technologies
CryoEnergy II— Washington State's CryoEnergy International, Inc. is trumpeting its ability to design and manufacture systems for the distributed liquefied natural gas market... CEII has an exclusive worldwide license to small-scale gas liquefaction knowhow for LNG from CryoFuel Systems
DaimlerChrysler Commercial Buses North America (F&F StrategiesTM)— The German-American OEM's domestic bus operations have been reorganized under one company based in Greensboro... $200 million DCCBNA, which incorporates Orion, Setra and Thomas Dennis (but not Thomas Built) has expertise in natural gas fuel and hybrid drivetrains, and stands ready to import fuel cell knowhow, when warranted, from Germany
Listings in the February 3, 2003 issue of Fleets & Fuels
'Too Risky'— The Civis (shown) has inspired the imaginations of Los Angeles officials, in turn prompting U.S. busbuilders to promise their own eurodesigns... but the city's Metropolitan Transportation Authority has just postponed its buy of CNG hybrid electrics, LACMTA reasoning that a commitment to purchase 92 vehicles, with fuel and drive technologies never before combined in a 60-foot articulated bus, is too risky... a more modest large electric vehicle drive procurement is in the works... the good news is that the agency, America's largest operator of compressed natural gas buses, is going ahead with its buy of 200 (and maybe 600) articulated 60-footers with conventional CNG-fueled engines
Kingdom Gone?— New York City's Kingdom Group, a supplier of compressed natural gas fueling services, filed for Chapter 7 (liquidation) bankruptcy on November 13, but a group of former owners, including vice chair Matt Cashin, is bidding to buy certain of its assets under the name United Compression
'Multiple Approaches'— Fleet customers seeking better fuel efficiency in their pickup trucks will be the first to get General Motors vehicles with hybrid electric drivetrains, as the OEM pledged to offer hybrid drives across no fewer than a dozen models ranging from trucks to passenger sedans... beyond the pickups, Saturn's VUE SUV (shown) will debut in 2005
Enviros Dismayed— Clean vehicle proponents are dismayed by a California Air Resources Board staff proposal to ease the state's zero emission vehicle mandate by delaying the nominal 10 percent sales minimum for major automakers to 2005 and effectively reducing the amount of 'pure' ZEVs required to just 1 percent
Phill Beta— FuelMaker and Honda plan to place as many as 100 'Phill' brand units for home compressed natural gas fueling with test customers with an eye to evaluating the device's real-world performance in a variety of climates and settings... the beta test program is expected to get underway in May
ENRG Buys Blue Energy— ENRG acquires Colorado- and Texas-based Blue Energy, and with it 56 established natural gas fueling stations taking its total to about 145... ENRG, the former Pickens, pledges to apply the business model that's been successful in California and Arizona to the Blue territory, including construction of fueling facilities based on volume commitments, securing grant money whenever possible to offset capital costs, targeting police, taxi and shared ride vehicles in the light duty sector, and refuse/garbage, transit and intrastate trucking in heavy duty vehicles... there's a hint of more acquisitions to come, too
RAV4-EV, R.I.P.— Toyota gives word that it'll cease production of the RAV4-EV battery electric, but at the big auto show in Detroit promises a Lexus SUV with an advanced hybrid drivetrain... the Japanese leader also shows off a fuel cell car dubbed the S-Fine (shown), a concept car illustrating the design versatility afforded by electric drives
The Model U— Ford proclaims its model U concept car, with internal combustion engine that's hydrogen-fueled, to be the 'Model T of the 21st Century'
Woburn to Auburn— Woburn, Mass.-based Ztek Corp has joined the California Fuel Cell Partnership and is building CaFCP's second satellite fueling station for hydrogen, in league with Pacific Gas & Electric, at a PG&E property in Auburn, northeast of Sacramento
Where Are the Cars?— Availability of OEM vehicles is 'the large issue to deal with in 2003 in Europe,' advises European Natural Gas Vehicle Association chief Jeff Seisler, who laments a lack of vehicle product at a time when other European stakeholders are endorsing NGVs... Seisler lists Fiat, Opel (the Opel Zafira is shown) and Volkswagen as exceptions, but says distribution plagues the NGV-making automakers too: 'Consistently,' Siesler says, 'we are finding in some countries that dealers don't want to sell NGVs that are being made available by the manufacturers'
Save a Fiver, a Fiver a Day— London next month becomes one of the world's first cities to impose a fee on drivers in an attempt to reduce congestion, but operators of alternative fuel vehicles, and hybrids and electrics, won't have to pay the daily center-city toll, which amounts to £5, or about $7.50 in U.S. dollars... the levy takes effect February 17
Dynetek for Stuart— Calgary-based Dynetek Industries, one of the first compressed natural gas specialists to trumpet the applicability of its fuel storage vessels to hydrogen, is stepping up those efforts, publicizing its work with Mississauga-based Stuart Energy in California
BG Group (F&F StrategiesTM)— The UK's BG Group, a descendant of the old British Gas, has focused its natural gas vehicle activities in areas where increased NGV activity can help the company sell natural gas fuel... Argentina, Brazil and India lead the way
Listings in the January 20, 2003 issue of Fleets & Fuels
January 6, 2003 issue of Fleets & Fuels includes: Who Is that Masked Man?— What'll happen to tax breaks for alternative fuels this year is anybody's guess as a new Congress takes over... the issues are the same but the players are different, including a new Senate leader surgeon Bill Frist, and lots of new committee chairs...
Escape This Year— Ford has released further plans for the hybrid electric version of its Escape SUV, stating that the vehicle is to be available to select fleet customers late this year and to consumers, beginning in Los Angeles and Sacramento, in 2004... the hybrid Escape is to have a four-cylinder, 2.3-liter engine and the performance of a V-6... it'll be built at Ford's Kansas City assembly plant
Belgian Buy— Stuart Energy has a deal to acquire Belgium's Vandenborre Hydrogen for approximately $18 million U.S. in cash and shares, thereby broadening its ability to make hydrogen via electrolysis and gaining new access to the European market
Too Harsh a Headline?— Some California Air Resources Board staffers felt that the headline here, which appeared in Fleets & Fuels affiliate ShowTimes at last month's ETIC 2002 meeting in Florida, was unfair, as it was the automakers who delayed and fought the agency and ultimately failed to commercialize battery electric vehicles in California... CARB, in a proposal to be made formal this Friday, is expected to allow automakers, who have stubbornly maintained that battery electrics have no significant market, to concentrate instead on fuel cell vehicles, with no guarantee that they won't become another red herring... photo shows CARB chief Alan Lloyd extolling fuel cells
Off-Road EVs from Toyota— Toyota is promoting industrial EVs including new AC-powered airport tow tractors, of which United Airlines is said to have purchased 100... the Toyota AC vehicles are said to significantly outperform their DC competition
2008 in China— When the 2008 Olympics come to Beijing in 2008, visitors likely will be riding in electric and hybrid electric buses and taxis, and longtime EV leader Ray Geddes expects several of his General Energy Technologies, Inc. joint ventures to be major players in the electric-drive revolution there
Zinc Air— 'Zinc-air is the only viable solution for zero-emission public transportation, for both the short run and the long run... diesel hybrids do not offer zero emissions and hydrogen fuel poses significant hurdles that may not be solved in the foreseeable future...' so states Robert Ehrlich, chairman and CEO of New York City- and Jerusalem-based Electric Fuel, in the wake of new reports and tests in support of his firm's electric-electric hybrid technology
Zap at CES— Northern California's Zap promises to unveil an entire new line of electric vehicles at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week... Zap says it's working with a consortium of European firms, among them Italy's Studio Linia 2, to bring the full-featured vehicles, including utility vehicles, to North America... Zap claims a new, range-extending battery technology too
Fly Ash Storage— San Francisco's FST, Inc., is promoting a process for making hydrogen storage compounds from fly ash, the waste or by-product of coal power plants
Cracking Canada— The City of Hamilton, Ontario has placed the first order in Canada for the C Gas Plus natural gas engine, Cummins Westport reports... the order came from the Hamilton Street Railway Company, which is buying 20 New Flyer buses with the 280-horsepower powerplant
2003's GSE Shows— Airport ground support equipment represents a major market for electric vehicles, including pure battery electrics... this year's major GSE shows are both to be tied to larger aviation trade events including, this coming June, for the first time ever, the venerated Paris Air Show
Feel Good Cars (F&F StrategiesTM)— Canada's Feel Good Cars is challenging Daimler's Global Electric Motorcars in the neighborhood electric vehicle sector with an all-weather alternative to the popular GEM line, and plans too to branch into freeway-capable city cars... Feel Good, which finishes engineless gliders from France's Microcar at a plant in Quebec, has set an annual sales goal of some 5,000 of its Zenn (for zero emission, no noise) vehicles three years from now
Listings in the January 6, 2003 issue of Fleets & Fuels
Second Thoughts— The California Air Resources Board's move to change emissions testing procedures to recognize the merits of hybrid vehicles may have the unintended effect of deterring the manufacture of hybrids by making vehicle builders responsible for testing... 'A nice idea but it's not practical,' says one of the people responsible for selling the Orion VII bus (shown), one of an increasing number of vehicles available with hybrid electric drivetrains
'What Would Jesus Drive?'— Gaining attention across the U.S. and even internationally this past month is a surprise campaign by an organization of Christian groups to convince automakers that their relentless marketing push toward bigger and less efficient vehicles is markedly wrong... the campaign puts these Christian groups on the side of an increasing array of health organizations, scientists, and traditional environmentalists who see the trend toward larger vehicles, as typified by the sport utility vehicle or SUV, as something to be fought
First Buses, Now Trucks— Chattanooga-based Advanced Vehicle Systems is working on a hybrid-electric tractor for a Class 8 over-the-road truck, marking an expansion of the electric vehicle specialist's current all-bus product line... AVS is using an International tractor with drive electronics by Enova Systems
10,000-psi Hydrogen— Canada's Powertech Labs and its parent BC Hydro have brought a 10,000-psi fast-fill hydrogen fueling unit into operation at PowerTech's facility in Surrey, near Vancouver... hydrogen is generated via a Stuart Energy electrolysis unit, compressed, and stored in Dynetek cylinders at nearly 12,700 psi
Today— Mayor Jim Hahn is to take delivery this afternoon of the first of five Honda FCX fuel cell vehicles to be tested by the City of Los Angeles... across town in Irvine, Toyota is trumpeting delivery of fuel-cell hybrid-electric vehicles to officials at the University of California there, and to UC Davis near Sacramento
European Brainstorming— The European Natural Gas Vehicle Association is hosting a special meeting this month to help prepare a large, multinational proposal tied to the European Commission's ambitious goal of transitioning to a zero-emission, hydrogen-based transportation economy
268 mph— The 'Buckeye Bullet,' an electric vehicle that's been in the making by students at Ohio State University for more than two years, has narrowly missed setting a new world speed record for EVs at the Bonneville Salt Flats, reports Florida's Saminco, which supplied the 30-foot vehicle's control electronics
'More Fruitless Results'— The Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition says that another study purporting to show that new diesels are cleaner than natural gas vehicles is flawed, as the study 'compared an older natural gas-powered school bus not equipped with emission after-treatment to a diesel-powered bus equipped with advanced emission controls and operating on ultra-low sulfur fuel that is not generally available on the market'
Westport Goes East (and West)— Vancouver's Westport Innovations has a grant to place upwards of half a dozen heavy duty trucks with its new ISXG engine into service along Highway 401, which connects Ontario and Quebec and as such is Canada's busiest road... the grant from Sustainable Development Technology Canada is worth $1 million Canadian, about $634,000 U.S.
NGVs in Minsk— The new nations of the former Soviet bloc represent a hodgepodge of natural gas vehicle market opportunities... and areas where perhaps it's not yet wise to concentrate your marketing efforts, Russia's leading NGV proponent reports
Enova Systems (F&F StrategiesTM)— California digital power management specialist stresses heavy EVs and strategic partnerships... Enova has seen revenues rise 45 percent thus far this year as other firms struggle
Late Breaking— Vancouver-based Azure Dynamics disclosed a deal with Britain's London Taxis International to develop hybrid electric taxi cabs... 'Annual volumes are projected to be up to 3,000 vehicles,' Azure says... that's the same number cited as the overall potential for hybrid package delivery vans to be developed in league with Canada'a Purolator Courier
Listings in the December 2, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
CARB Tries Again— The California Air Resources Board has set a series of meetings, beginning the first week in December, to help it revise the zero emission vehicle mandate that was dramatically relaxed in 1996 (and again in 1998 and 2000) and then quashed in court earlier this year... a revised regulation is expected to be finalized late in February
Back from the Brink— CryoFuel Systems, supplier of componentry for small-scale liquefied natural gas facilities, had a brush with bankruptcy this past summer but avoided it, is back with new financing and is preparing a new identity... CryoFuels will re-emerge as CryoEnergy International
Zebras for Th!nks?— Switzerland's MES has offered its Zebra brand nickel sodium chloride battery for use in the new Th!nk City, and says its existing Z23 model battery would yield a range of 125 kilometers and, on a life-cycle basis, be cost-competitive with lead acids... the new Th!nk City has room for a Zebra battery yielding a range of 200 kilometers, which could be ready in four months, the company says
Kiss Those Credits Goodbye— Forget those nice alternative fuel tax credits passed earlier this year by the Senate, as conference panel members voted last week to throw the energy bill out and start again in the new Congress next year... that new Congress, given the Republican victories on Election Day, is seen as less likely to include the tax incentives, which would have ramped up to a significant 50 cents per gallon had this year's bill become law...
Onboard Vacuum Fix— Chart's NexGen Fueling unit has developed a field pumping unit that allows technicians to re-establish the insulation vacuum on liquefied natural gas tanks without removing the tanks from the vehicle...
100K— Southern California Edison has logged 100,000 miles on one of its 275 Toyota RAV4-EVs, and reports that the vehicle reached the milestone on its original nickel metal hydride battery pack... that's Toyota's Ed La Rocque (left) and SoCal Edison's Bill West with the first 100,000-mile RAV4-EV Francisco last month (photo)
HERI for Hydrogen— Portland-based Hydro Environmental Resources, Inc. is promoting an ambient-pressure reactor that produces pure hydrogen from water with no need for an external power source... all HERI's electrical chemical hydrogen fuel reactor needs is water and a combination of readily available materials, including a metallic catalyst, the firm claims
Storage Breakthrough— Alanate hydride hybrids are the key to a safe, low-pressure hydrogen storage technology being promoted by San Francisco-based FST, Inc.... the FST system represents a 'third-generation,' and still-evolving technological alternative, the firm says, offered by a company that has no financial or cultural ties to existing methodologies, like heavy pressure vessels and older metal hydride systems, that are proving impractical in the marketplace
Dynetek Sets Valve Unit— Dynetek Industries has established a valve unit, targeting hydrogen fuel tank hardware, including regulators, suitable for 10,000-psi use
Shell-QuestAir— Shell Hydrogen is taking a $7 million (U.S.) stake in Canada's QuestAir Technologies to help commercialize the firm's proprietary gas purification technology... QuestAir says it aims to commercialize hydrogen purification devices for use in fuel cell applications by 2006... the purity of hydrogen fed into fuel cells affects their performance and useful lives, and hence their economic viability, says the Vancouver-based company
PG&E Eyes January— Pacific Gas & Electric is targeting January to bring a liquefied natural gas fueling facility with a capacity of 10,000 gallons per day on line in Sacramento... the facility, being built using technology from the U.S. Energy Department's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, could pave the way for small-scale liquefaction units that will allow the cryogenic fuel to be prepared for use on a just-in-time basis, cutting storage costs and eliminating the transportation costs now paid when LNG is trucked over long distances
From Russia for NGVs— Russia's National Gas Vehicle Association is promoting a catalog detailing natural gas (and propane/LPG) vehicle equipment offerings from 40 companies from countries including Austria, Byelorussia, Germany, Italy, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the U.S., and is preparing a 2003 edition to be printed in both Russian and English
Listings in the November 18, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
CARB Boosts Hybrids— The big news of the week may have been the least heralded, as the California Air Resources Board has voted to allow testing of entire hybrid electric drivetrains, and not just engines, for certifying transit buses... the decision amounts to official recognition of hybrids as a technology to reduce both fuel consumption and air pollution... CARB continues to support fuel cell electric drive vehicles too... photo shows agency chairman Alan Lloyd helping inaugurate the new Stuart Energy hydrogen fueling unit at the AC Transit bus yard in Richmond last week
Enova-Hyundai— California's Enova Systems and Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries have agreed to establish a $6 million R&D center for digital power management for heavy electric drive vehicle (and stationary) applications at Enova headquarters in Torrance...
Th!nking It Over— Ford says it's hosting suitors interested in taking over its Th!nk Nordic electric vehicle operation in Norway... the firm's exit from the battery EV business had more to do with corporate culture and underestimation of the challenges at the former Pivco operation than with batteries, says a former employee at the Aurskog plant... she was one of the participants in a rally against the Ford decision held at S&C Ford in San Francisco last month (photo)
Fab Offers LNG— Alabama's Fab Industries is supplementing its line of CNG tank installation hardware and services with liquefied natural gas systems... the company has shown an LNG tank by Indiana's Technifab Products, but says it's not bound to any one supplier
3,000 Hybrid Trucks?— Canada's Purolator Courier and Azure Dynamics have signed an MoU that could lead to production of 3,000 hybrid package delivery trucks with Azure drivetrain technology
RTA Goes CNG— California's Riverside Transit Agency has committed its entire bus fleet to compressed natural gas, will open its Hemet CNG fueling facility to the public, and has won an award from the South Coast Air Quality Management District for doing so
Taking to the Air— Aircraft designers, including some of the world's largest, are taking the ideas of alt fuel, electric drive and even fuel cell aircraft seriously... shown is an ethanol-fueled 'Ipanema' crop duster by Brazil's Embraer-Neiva that, if demand warrants, could be certified within 18 months
More than 100,000 Sold— Toyota has topped the 100,000-unit mark for placements of its Prius hybrid vehicle, but remains chary with details of when a new hybrid may be introduced in North America... the automaker offers three models, including a minivan, with electrically assisted hybrid drives in Japan
'An Impossible Situation'— The Chicago-based Engine Manufacturers Association says it's looking for new ways to fight Southern California fleet rules that effectively mandate the use of alternative fuels, stating that the South Coast Air Quality Management District regulations are inconsistent with the federal Clean Air Act
GreenField Compression (F&F StrategiesTM)— GreenField is stressing reliability and durability guaranteed by in-house manufacturing as it brings a new name to the compressor and dispenser businesses formerly known by the names of Sulzer and Henderson... new offices in Canada and in Brazil accentuate GreenField's international thrust
Listings in the November 4, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
NGV2002— We're dedicating this issue of the bi-weekly Fleets & Fuels newsletter to coverage of NGV2002, the world natural gas vehicles meeting that took place earlier this month in Washington... NGV2002 saw renewed commitments to the clean burning fuel by government entities and by an increasing number of companies, with most of them expressing the view that natural gas is a present-day bridge to what will eventually be a hydrogen-based energy economy...
Hydrogen, Aye— The International Association for Natural Gas Vehicles voted in Washington to back the use of natural gas-derived hydrogen as a vehicle fuel... Jeff Seisler discusses the pros and cons... he's the outgoing president of IANGV, and is continuing as executive director of the Amsterdam-based European Natural Gas Vehicle Association, which he established after leaving Washington's Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition, which he also founded
600,000-Plus NGVs— Bringing better than half a million natural gas vehicles into service in California over the next ten years is a key goal of the new California Natural Gas Vehicle Partnership, an unusual alliance of government and commercial interests... Ford's Dave Henry, CNGVP/AQMD chair Norma Glover, David Demers of Westport and NGVC chief Rich Kolodziej in photo from CNGVP briefing at NGV2002
NOx Trading— It looks as if the federal EPA will give its blessing to the idea of trading emissions credits gleaned from clean vehicles for those of factories and powerplants... mobile-for-stationary trading, now rare, could allow a factory developer faced with emissions limits to bankroll a fleet of diesel-replacing natural gas vehicles, and apply the emissions reductions from the cleaner vehicles to his factory totals... the concept was endorsed at NGV2002 by Linda Fisher, who as Deputy Administrator is the second in command at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Meet Phill— FuelMaker and its equity partner Honda used the NGV2002 show to unveil a new home refueling unit, dubbed Phill, that's to hit the market in late 2003 with a goal of bringing home fueling of natural gas vehicles to consumers... Honda pledged to begin marketing its Civic GX to consumers rather than just fleets, beginning with the model year 2004 edition of the dedicated-CNG car
World Stage— GreenField Compression and Tulsa Gas Technologies were just two of the many international companies displaying at NGV2002... this issue of Fleets & Fuels covers displays of companies including Arctic Fox, Dynetek, Keihin, Kraus, Luxfer Gas Cylinders, NGV Tech (Korea), Pinnacle CNG, Rotarex-Ceodeux, and Ullit
LACMTA Likes BRT— The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has already requested information on large articulated buses to be powered by compressed natural gas, and on CNG-fueled electric and hybrid electric buses (bids are due this Wednesday, October 23), and is likely to exercise options bringing resulting buys into the many hundreds of CNG-fueled vehicles as it embraces the related concepts of Bus Rapid Transit and Metro Rapid as economical, ridership-boosting alternatives to light rail
World NGVs in 2004— NGV2004, the 9th International Conference & Exhibition on Natural Gas Vehicles, will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 26-28, 2004... Road to World Improvement theme
Listings in the October 21, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
Hybrid Vote— California continues to lead the charge toward cleaner vehicles, with the state's Air Resources Board set to vote this month on a new test and certification procedure targeting not just engines but allowing the fundamental merits of hybrid electric drivetrains in transit buses to be measured
Ford Extends 2003 Incentives— Ford said late last week that it's extending a rebate of $1,000.00 per vehicle for fleet buyers of model year 2003 gaseous fuel vehicles until December 31... that's an e-Series dedicated-CNG Econoline van shown
Vegas APTA— The American Public Transportation Association's meeting in Las Vegas late last month saw an impressive array of electric drive and natural gas-fueled vehicles, shown not to clean air advocates but to real transit fleet operators... sessions on alternative fuel, emissions reduction, and hybrid vehicles were among the best attended at the tri-annual event... shown here is a new electric drive unit from Germany's Voith, and a Chance streetcar with roof-mounted CNG tanks... GM's Allison unit placed a decided emphasis on its new hybrid drivetrains at APTA, while natural has vehicle and NGV service companies with APTA displays included Amerex, ANGI, Applied LNG Technologies, Dynetek, ENRG, Fab Industries, Honda (with its Civic GX), NexGen Fueling (Chart), Pinnacle CNG, SCI, Staubli, Trillium USA and Westport (with Cummins)
Gasoline Challenge— San Diego's ISE Research has gotten dramatic, California Air Resources Board-verified emissions reductions on a transit bus fueled by gasoline, the firm said last month at the APTA meeting in Las Vegas... also, under a new ISE deal with Siemens, disclosed at APTA, the Southern California company becomes a U.S. distributor and 'preferred systems integrator' for Siemens' 'Elfa' brand hybrid drive products
Oil & Water— France's TotalFinaElf has gotten California Air Resources Board approval for its 'Aquazole' brand diesel-water emulsion to be marketed as an alternative diesel in the state, making users of the product eligible for alt fuel incentives... TFE is looking for North American licensees for the product, working through the Los Angeles-based Adept Group
Xebec Gets ISO Nod— Canada's Xebec has been awarded an ISO 9001 (2000) certificate for the manufacture of its regenerative desiccant natural gas dryers, built at a 45,000-square-foot plant in Blainville, Que.
CNG Seen Safer in Mesa— The City of Mesa, Ariz. has added three dozen more dedicated-CNG Crown Victorias to its police fleet, in large part because its sees the NGVs as safer than gasoline cars
Avestor Begins LMP Output— Hybrid and fuel cell electric vehicles, as well as pure battery cars, will benefit as Canada's Avestor (formerly known as Hydro-Quebec and Argo-Tech) is commencing production of lithium metal polymer batteries... the LMP batteries are said to outperform lead acids 'at one-third the size and one-fifth the weight...' LMP batteries for EVs are planned for model year 2005 or 2006
B Gas Plus & Beyond— The Cummins Westport joint venture has declared the official commercial launch of the 5.9-liter B Gas Plus engine... the up-to-230-horsepower engine is a refinement of the Cummins B5.9G, with improved control and diagnostic electronics
CenterPoint Energy (Reliant; F&F StrategiesTM)— Get set for CenterPoint Energy Alternative Fuels, the new name for Reliant Energy Entex, to branch beyond its Houston-headquartered, Texas- and Louisiana-centered service area to bid for compressed natural gas fueling installation jobs in new locales
Listings in the October 7, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
Ford Th!nks Not— Ford has decided to cease development and manufacturing of its various battery electric vehicles, pulling out of Th!nk Nordic in Norway to concentrate on fuel cell and hybrid vehicles... 'The customer does not want to pay what it costs to build the vehicle,' Th!nk chief John Wallace (shown with Th!nk vehicles) says of the battery electric... production of the Th!nk Neighbor in Detroit is to cease at year-end
Nearly 1,200 Sold— The Costco chain of discount warehouse stores in California continues to sell neighborhood electric vehicles from DaimlerChrysler's Global Electric Motorcars unit... 1,190 NEVs were sold through August 26, thanks in large part to discounts pushed as low as $3,995.00 for the basic GEM model
Return of Congress— Now that Congress is back from its long August recess, the final bargaining begins that could provide a significant boost to AFV sales and use of cleaner alternative fuels... at issue are the lucrative tax incentives designed to make it easier for fleet operators to purchase AFVs, build refueling stations and, critically, a proposed 50-cent-a-gallon tax credit for actually using alternative fuels
Whither the DoE?— Will the federal energy agency move on its long-lost rule to force muni and private fleets to buy AFVs? Short answer: No
Falloff— Honda sees Civic GX sales drop, but it's the first off year in five, and there are meanwhile indications that Honda's alt fuel and advanced technology vehicles are going mainstream, as both, in an almost unprecedented development, get full coverage in the company's model year 2003 media kit... image of the slick and nifty Civic Hybrid gauge shown here is from the kit's CD
Abraham Visits ECD Ovonic— U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham visited the hydrogen storage and fuel cell laboratories and production facilities of Energy Conversion Devices in Rochester Hills, Mich. last month... photo shows Abraham, Energy Conversion Devices chairman Bob Stempel, ECD president & CEO Stan Ovshinsky, Iris Ovshinsky, and ECD treasurer and VP Nancy Bacon with a Toyota Prius employing ECD's NiMH battery technology
Fuel Cell APUs— Trucks kept idling to provide power for refrigerated trailers and driver creature comforts are a significant source of emissions beyond what's needed for actual transportation, so California's South Coast Air Quality Management District is funding a three-year project to develop fuel cell unit to provide needed electricity when trucks aren't rolling
Revenues Rise— Vancouver's Westport Innovations reports increased revenues and a slightly narrower loss for its first fiscal quarter ended June 30, and says it's focusing on managing its spending during the current 'turbulent economic conditions...' the Cummins Westport joint venture meanwhile reports an order for 50 of its B5.9-230G low-emissions natural gas engines from China's Beijing Transportation Company... they're to be installed in double-decker buses manufactured by Ankai Chassis, in Hefei, Anhui province, and by the Nanjing Jinling Double Decker Factory, in Nanjing, Jiangsu province
$12 Million LACMTA Deal— The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has picked Trillium USA to expand and to operate for 10 years the agency's Division 3 compressed natural gas fueling installation in Cypress Park
Nitty Gritty, Fuels and Hardware— SAE International is billing next month's Powertrain & Fluid Systems Conference & Exhibition as a new meeting allowing designers and engineers 'to foster a systems approach to design challenges' when it comes to developing new drivetrains and using alternative fuels... It's being held October 21-24 at California's Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego
PEI Electronics (F&F StrategiesTM)— Huntsville, Ala.-based PEI Electronics, now a unit of Integrated Defense Technologies is emphasizing military markets for hybrid electric vehicles ì with a willingness to supply commercial manufacturers when opportunities arise
Listings in the September 2, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
We Knew This— A federal judge has agreed with environmentalists that U.S. agencies have failed to buy alternative fuel vehicles as they are required to do under EPAct... what else is new?
Bad Boy, Bad Boy— Southern California's Scott Alder Motorsports will offer modified Crown Victorias with beefy 6.8-liter, V-10 Ford truck engines for a line of high-performance 'Interceptor' police cars to be fueled by propane... the SULEV cars will have a single-tank range of 500 miles, and could be available early in 2003... Michigan's Cosworth Technology, ASC Engineering, and McLaren Performance Technologies are production partners
AFT-466 Scale-Up— Applied LNG Technologies is stepping up promotion of its ULEV AFT-466 natural gas engine for medium- and heavy duty applications, hoping to line up Southern California International/Navistar dealers who'll offer the -466 as an option in their trucks for model year 2003
Fuel Cell Ferry— Going the way of the paddle wheel? Well, maybe not anytime soon, but San Francisco Bay's diesel ferries may someday give way to fuel cell boats... the San Francisco Bay Water Transit Authority and marine architects John J. McMullen Associates are designing a fuel cell vessel now... they're shopping for the fuel cells themselves
Sacramento LNG— Pacific Gas & Electric is bringing a liquefied natural gas fueling facility on line in Sacramento, using small scale liquefaction technology from the U.S. Energy Department's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory
Phase III Money for Ovonic NiMHs— Texaco Ovonic Battery Systems reports getting a $5.2 million, two-year cost-sharing contract to continue development work on its proprietary, liquid-cooled, 12-volt monoblock nickel metal hydride battery for hybrid electric vehicles, under the Energy Department's FreedomCar initiative
5 Million Miles— 'Five million miles and counting,' says Georgia Power, reporting that besides notching the mileage milestone, its fleet of electric vehicles has avoided more than 2.2 million pounds of emissions... the utility will augment its fleet with new Th!nk City cars when Ford makes them available next year
$15.25 Million— California's South Coast Air Quality Management District has approved funding of $12.15 million for programs to cut cancer-causing particulate pollution, including $7.9 million to replace more than 60 diesel school buses with compressed natural gas-powered models
AC for L.A.— One of three downtown shuttle buses operated as a free service by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has been upgraded with twin AC-150 power electronics units from AC Propulsion, the company reports
A Hankerin' for Hydrogen and a Humdinger of a Program— The International Association for Natural Gas Vehicles will decide at NGV2002 in Washington this fall whether to embrace hydrogen as a vehicle fuel, as the Electric Vehicle Association of the Americas promotes its December meeting in Florida by releasing an impressive line-up of key automotive OEM and other industry figures who'll appear there... Fleets & Fuels affiliate ShowTimes is the official magazine of both events
Luxfer Type IIIs— Luxfer is re-entering the gaseous fuel tank market, offering a line of Type III carbon fiber-on-aluminum cylinders for both compressed natural gas and hydrogen
Safe Slurry— Safe Hydrogen says a benign, magnesium-based chemical hydride slurry provides an answer to the hydrogen infrastructure challenges facing the nascent fuel cell vehicle industry
Cozy with a Giant— General Motors sits at the center of a small-firm alliance that includes Canada's Hydrogenics and General Hydrogen, Quantum Technologies, and Giner Electrochemical
Hydrogenics Corp— Canadian fuel cell and fuel cell testing specialist carves position in what may be a big big niche, in large part via an intimate relationship with General Motors, its 28% owner... Hydrogenics has the rights to sell GM fuel cells in non-road markets too
Listings in the August 19, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
Attack on Global Warming— California has become the first government entity to move to control greenhouse gases from automobiles, and although it will be years before regulations are devised to implement the State's new law, the opportunities for fuel-saving hybrid vehicle and, eventually, non-carbon fuel cell vehicles are enormous
CNG Electrics— Taking what one key official calls 'an extreme leap of technology,' the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority will decide to go with batteries or without for 92 (and quite possibly 276) compressed natural gas-fueled, 60-foot articulated, electric-drive buses it's initially buying for a new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route to the San Fernando Valley... they may not exactly be the sleek Irisbus Civis shown, but they're to be slick-enough looking to serve as a rolling advertisement for mass transit
Th!nking It Over— Perhaps taking a breather now that the zero emission vehicle sales mandate in California is in limbo, Ford confirms that it's delaying the debut of its new-model, made-in-Norway Th!nk City electric vehicle as engineers decide what battery to use in the all-electric two-seater
AQMD Partnership— In what's described as a groundbreaking move in that it involves a government agency's advocacy of a particular fuel, California's South Coast Air Quality Management District is backing a new organization called the California Natural Gas Vehicle Partnership to 'increase and strengthen the deployment of low-emission NGVs throughout California, as a strategy transferable to many other major metropolitan regions'
Trillium-Pinnacle— The acquisition of compressed natural gas fueling services provider Trillium USA by Midland, Texas-based Wagner & Brown is going forward, and could be complete late this month, Trillium president Jan Hull told F&F last week... W&B also owns Pinnacle CNG... the two compressed natural gas fueling specialists will be complementary 'sister' companies with Trillium handling large stations and Pinnacle smaller ones
Impco Spins Off Quantum— Impco Technologies has completed the spin-off of its Quantum unit, a public company now known as Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc.
On the Waterfront— Ferries should be much cleaner, says Calstart, as a San Francisco Bay Area group promises that new ones will be... Calstart's also concerned about the short drives commuters often make to the docks, drives that are disproportionately dirty because vehicles often don't run long enough for their catalytic converters to warm up and become effective
Military Segways?— The New Hampshire-based manufacturer of the Segway 'Human Transporter' and BAE Systems, the defense giant that now encompasses the old British Aerospace, took the occasion of last month's Farnborough air show in England to trumpet a deal whereby BAE will market the radical, nickel metal hydride battery electric device to aerospace and defense customers in the UK
Fuel Cells Faster— Honda and Nissan, evidently in response to Toyota's disclosure that it plans to field fuel cell cars for service trials in California and Japan this year, are stepping up their own introductory efforts, and could field developmental cars for service trials just as soon
Russia Exports First LNG— 'Russia has joined the club of LNG exporting countries,' reports Moscow-based Eugene Pronin, who heads natural gas vehicle activities at Gazprom, said to be the world's largest gas company... the first truckload of liquefied natural gas from Russia, a 12.5-ton shipment from Saint Petersburg's Sygma Gas to the Finnish company Gasum, crossed the border on July 5, he reports
John Wallace Is Stepping Down— Ford Th!nk Group chief John Wallace (who co-chairs the Electric Vehicle Association of the Americas and was founding chairman of the California Fuel Cell Partnership) was feted at a retirement party in Dearborn last week... word is he'll remain active in the EVs industry
Clean Cities 2002— Despite its successes, such as placing thousands of vehicles in service at a rate that's growing by nearly 20 percent a year, the Clean Cities program has been relegated to a rather obscure grants and weatherization office within the Energy Departments labyrinthine organizational structure. We explain it...
Listings in the August 5, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
'Much Earlier than Originally Planned'— Toyota is pushing up what it calls the market debut of hybrid fuel cell vehicles, pledging to place approximately 20 leased units in the U.S. and Japan THIS YEAR... Toyota calls them HFCVs because they'll use both fuel cell and battery (with regenerative braking) -derived electricity for motive power... the Toyota HFCVs will be based on the company's Highlander SUV
Telling It to the Judge— The California Air Resources Board will appeal the court ruling that put the clamps on the agency's zero emission vehicle sales mandate, which was to have taken effect with model year 2003 vehicles, and now won't... the rule will be re-written too
About that Holy Grail— In federal action, backers of generous alternative fuels incentives, including a key tax break approved earlier this year by the Senate, are facing an uphill battle and are calling for letters and faxes and e-mails and phone calls to Congressmen as legislators work behind the scenes to reconcile House and Senate version of the big energy bill... the incentives, which have been sought for years, are by no means certain to pass... California Republican Bill Thomas, pictured here, is a key figure
California's AB 1493— The California legislature has passed a bill requiring automakers to consider (and reduce) emissions of greenhouse gases when they design cars and trucks for sale in the state... the fight to come could make the electric vehicles debate look like an OEM-agency love fest
Heavy Hitting Hybrids— A big hybrid vehicles buyer is likely to be the U.S. Army, with defense contractors like Boeing making key selection decisions... the aerospace giant is the using this graphic to illustrate its ambitious, multibillion-dollar Future Combat Systems program... those little ground vehicles, the friendlies anyway, will be hybrid electrics... Boeing is using this graphic to illustrate its ambitious vision for Future Combat Systems... those ground vehicles, the friendlies, will be hybrid electrics
12,500 psi— Canada's Dynetek says it's the first to test a commercial fuel tank for service at 12,500 psi, or 825 bar, marking 'a significant milestone...' the company is targeting fuel cell vehicles with onboard storage of compressed hydrogen
Capstone Reorganization— The turbine specialist has reorganized into five functional areas: sales and marketing, quality and customer service, engineering, operations, and administration
Solectria's Diaphorm— The Massachusetts electric vehicles specialist Solectria has established a unit dubbed Diaphorm specializing in the development of advanced composite material processing techniques and the production of thermoplastic composite parts... Diaphorm is targeting auto and other markets
Westport Germany— Westport Innovations' opening of an office in London is followed immediately by a the purchase of a German engine technologist and the establishment of Westport Europe, in Dortmund... Elsewhere the Vancouver firm's Cummins Westport joint venture has Gas Technology Institute support for its 5.9-liter B Gas Plus natural gas engine
High Cycle, High Pressure— Hoke-Circle Seal is promoting a new valve for CNG tanks designed to endure millions of cycles... the firm is also working on valves pressure relief devices for a new generation of super high pressure hydrogen tanks
Fuel Cell Vehicle Rally— The California Fuel Cell Partnership is planning a 300-mile expedition/exposition of seven fuel cell vehicles along the coast from Monterey via San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara... it'll happen September 4-6
Pentadyne Power (F&F StrategiesTM)— Flywheels are back with a vengeance because the technology's better and ambitions have been throttled back, and because they may solve the battery-versus-ultracapacitor conundrum that plagues hybrid vehicle designers... Pentadyne, a descendant of now-defunct Rosen Motors, has just raised $12 million for flywheel development
Listings in the July 15, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
On Its Ear— California's 2001 ZEV rule changes have been thrown out behind a lawsuit filed by General Motors and others, and the question now is whether earlier, stricter provisions can be enforced... the California Air Resources Board says they can be, but that such a move would be unfair to companies that produced electric vehicles... CARB could appeal, too
New Hybrid Shuttle— Partners including Denver's TransTeq and Indiana's StarTrans Bus are ready to market a new propane-fueled hybrid electric shuttle... CNG will work too... the vehicle features a Ford E450 chassis and 4.2-liter, V-6 engine, and components and systems from vendors including Britain's Magtech for electric drive motors and controllers, Detroit's AAM for driveline modifications, and StarTrans parent Supreme Industries for body and interior
Saminco for Ballard— Saminco has a contract to supply 30 traction inverters for Phase 5 Ballard fuel cell buses... the 250-kilowatt DC/AC units will be used on the fifth-generation DaimlerChrysler fuel cell buses being built with the support of the European Union
Biodiesel Heats the Energy Debate— Energy legislation now hanging fire in a Congressional conference committee includes provisions allowing fleet operators subject to EPAct alternative fuel requirements to fully satisfy them with a blend of B20 20 percent biodiesel, up from the half allowed now
GEMs for Less— The Costco discount chain is offering California customers prices as low as $3,995 (plus taxes and license and documentation fees; still a $3,000 savings) for E825 GEM neighborhood electric vehicles from DaimlerChrysler... larger models are on sale too
Kraus is Back— A buy-out by some 60 employees has resuscitated Winnipeg-based Kraus, which is back in business now as Kraus Global
Ranger EV— Ford and its Th!nk Technologies unit are promoting a new electric vehicle remarketing program for nickel metal hydride batteried-powered Ranger EV pick-up trucks in California
Boeing's Fuel Cell Future— Aircraft manufacturer Boeing expects to pick a fuel cell supplier by year-end for its fuel cell-powered electric airplane, in hopes that fuel cells may someday replace internal combustion engines for the auxiliary power units on passenger aircraft... Boeing's radical new Sonic Cruiser (an early rendition is shown, new drawings of the proposed aircraft will be released this month) may, just may, someday have fuel cell APUs
ALT Stockton— Applied LNG Technologies' new 5,000-gallon-per-day liquefied natural gas plant in Stockton, Calif. is up and running
Westport Europe— Westport Innovations is establishing a European division effective today, July 1... the London unit may eventually account for a third of the Vancouver-based company's revenues
Smaller Seen Better— We've built them and they haven't come... thus FuelMaker argues that smaller is often better when it comes to compressed natural gas fueling, at least in this stage of the industry's development
NGVs for UL— Underwriters Laboratories, the product safety testing and certification organization, has purchased six compressed natural gas-gasoline bi-fuel GMC vehicles for its commuter van program, and is supporting them with a FuelMaker installation
L.L. Propane— Outdoor retailer L.L.Bean is talking up a $1 million donation to the nonprofit organization Friends of Acadia in support of the propane-fueled Island Explorer bus system that serves Maine's Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island each summer
Metano Maps— Metano means methane in Italian, and Milano-based publisher Belletti Editore, which is offering a road atlas detailing the loci of no fewer than 797 CNG fueling stations in Europe, provides business cards with individual maps like the one shown to fuelers who sell its books
C l e a n A i r P a r t n e r s ( F & F S t r a t e g i e s TM)— C l e a n A i r P a r t n e r s h a s a n e w C E O a n d a n i n f u s i o n o f v e n t u r e f u n d i n g t o t h e t u n e o f $ 2 5 m i l l i o n , a n d t h e o n c e p u b l i c i t y - s h y c o m p a n y i s m a k i n g n e w e f f o r t s t o t e l l i t s s t o r y : u p w a r d s o f 1 , 3 0 0 d i e s e l e n g i n e s n o w r u n n i n g on natural gas, in service, a new $500,000 testing installation at its San Diego headquarters, new sales to private and municipal fleets in California, and a new joint venture in England
Listings in the July 1, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
Big Men in Europe— That's Kevin Leydon of the European Commission's energy office at left with ENGVA director Jeff Seisler at the close of the European Natural Gas Vehicle Association's either annual meeting in Nice, France on May 30... the meeting provided insight into the varying needs of NGV users and car manufacturers, included the news that the Germans would this month pick a pair of contractors to build approximately ONE THOUSAND modular compressed natural gas fueling stations, and provided a glimpse of which companies are positioning themselves to participate in a European marketplace that's moving aggressively toward clean vehicles, with natural gas as a bridge to a hydrogen future
GM Goes for NEVs— The OEM that's decried neighborhood electric vehicles as a safety hazard is backing golf car specialist Club Car and will place thousands of Club Car NEVs in off-road applications in 2002, thus claiming multiple advance credits and satisfying its California ZEV sales requirement for years to come
CNG Hybrids for L.A.— Besides moving last month to solicit proposals for 200 compressed natural gas-fueled articulated buses, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board said it would invite bids on as many as 72 CNG-fueled articulated buses to have hybrid electric drives... The California agency, evidently in response to concerns about the life of hybrid vehicle battery packs reported by officials from New York City Transit and elsewhere, said it wants to see proposals for hybrid buses with and without battery systems
Trillium-Pinnacle— Pinnacle CNG parent Wagner & Brown is buying Trillium USA, which will continue operations from its Salt Lake City base
Hybrid Tax Break— Buyers of electrically assisted gasoline vehicles including the Honda Insight and new Civic Hybrid are eligible for a $2,000 federal tax deduction under section 179A of the Internal Revenue Code, according to a new guidance issued by the Internal Revenue Service, Honda reports
Zandiant for eMotion— Lake Forest, Calif.-based Zandiant Technologies is to supply telematics systems for the car-sharing program being launched by Atlanta's eMotion Mobility
'Failed Tactics'— 'They're basically stooping to the failed tactics of the tobacco industry,' said Rich Kolodziej of the U.S. Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition, 'which is half truths and in some cases no truths...' his comment was directed at the diesel lobby; the setting was the closing plenary session at last month's eighth annual Clean Cities meeting in Oklahoma City, where Kolodziej and Allen Schaeffer of the Diesel Technology Forum squared off... that's Natural Resources Defense Council director Rich Kassell, who also took part in the event, at left
Baytech Nod— Baytech conversion of GM's 4.3L engine is certified for model year 2002 light duty S-10s & Sonoma pickups
London Breakthrough— The British capital is continuing with plans to levy a tax of £5 per vehicle per day for vehicles entering the city... the tax takes effect February 17, 2003... alternative fuel vehicles are exempt
Chive Is a Gas— A new company named Chive Ltd, headed by Roy James, has taken over liquefied natural gas distribution and fueling from the BG Group/Iqara... the name Chive is a play on the chemical formula for methane: CH4 with the formula's numeral four written Roman-style
Still Investing, Now Selling Too— Vancouver's Westport Innovations notched sales of nearly $31.4 million (Canadian) for its fiscal year just finished, up from a mere $80,000 the year before
Listings in the June 10, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
Clean Cites 2002— George Bush didn't make it to Oklahoma City, but his propane-powered pickup did, Ford and General Motors showed their expanded line-ups of NGVs, ALT stepped up promotion of its LNG and vehicle conversion and support services, Lincoln unveiled a 10,000-psi hydrogen tank, former CIA chief James Woolsey endorsed ethanol (big time), NGVC's Rich Kolodziej duked it out with the diesel lobby, and the Segway nearly stole the show... That's Clean Cities director Shelley Launey, as well as Bush ranch foreman Kenneth Engelbracht and F&F editor Rich Piellisch with the Presidential Ride... Coverage of the Eighth Annual Clean Cities meeting in Oklahoma City commences in this week's Fleets & Fuels newsletter issue (and will continue)
Killer— Air pollution takes more lives in California than murder, AIDS and traffic accidents combined, says a new study by the Washington-based Environmental Working Group
Going for Hydrogen— The Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition has embraced hydrogen as a vehicle fuel, stating that methane-rich natural gas is today's best route to a hydrogen-based, zero-emission future... the European Natural Gas Vehicle Association added the elemental fuel to its charter last year... this October NGVC is hosting the world NGVs meeting in Washington, D.C., there the International Association for Natural Gas Vehicles will consider changing its charter to include hydrogen, too
Van Hool for AC— California's Alameda-Contra Costa Transit has a contract with Belgium's Van Hool for a trio of buses to be fitted for fuel cell operation by ISE ThunderVolt of San Diego using stacks from UTC Fuel Cells... a fourth vehicle, to be service-tested by SunLine transit, will be a 45-foot, lightweight composite-bodied CompoBus' from North American Bus Industries (shown)
Novel Hybrids— Massachusetts-based SatCon has new contracts with the U.S. Army, worth $1.5 million, to develop novel power electronics and advanced materials and magnetorheological fluid technologies for hybrid electric vehicles
Sprague's Clean Diesel— New Hampshire's Sprague Energy is talking up contracts to supply ulta low-sulfur diesel fuel to transit operators in Westchester County, N.Y. and New England
What Goes Around, Comes Around— Seattle- and Livermore, Calif.-based AFS Trinity Power Corp is getting $1 million in U.S. Department of Transportation support for 'ruggedizing' flywheel energy storage systems for hybrid electric trucks and buses
Late Breaking!— The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted late last week to start buying CNG-fueled, hybrid/electric articulated buses, and may admit product from Europe
Listings in the May 27, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
A New War of Words— State Senate passes measure that's the first in the United States specifically targeting greenhouse emissions from cars and trucks... and the action initiate another verbal battle between automakers and oil interests on one side, and regulators and environmentalists on the other
UQM's INTETS— This little box harbors the entire drivetrain of a midsize electric vehicle, and as such could go a long way toward making such vehicles viable, says Colorado's UQM Technologies... The new UQM drive is fruit of a Department of Energy small business research initiative
Ford's QuickPick— New program aiming to cut deliveries of common-configuration alternative fuel vehicles from as long as 12 weeks to just two or three is launched by Ford... it covers natural gas and LPG/propane offerings
Stuart for Ford— Canadian electrolysis specialist is supplying a portable hydrogen fueling unit for Focus FCV desert tests
USF Holland Forklifts— Canada's FuelMaker is talking up its role in providing fueling services for 40 compressed natural gas forklifts at the Milwaukee terminal of USF Holland, a unit of USFreightways... USF Cleveland could be next
A Yes for Europe— Dynetek's German fuel cylinder plant TUV-certified for CNG and hydrogen pressure vessels
GM Fuel Cells— General Motors has upped the ante on fuel cells, issuing a series of statements claiming a leadership position in fuel cell stack technology, describing a number of developmental fuel cell vehicles, and predicting that 'affordable, profitable' fuel cell vehicles will be available within a decade
Dealers Wanted— Florida's Leewood says it's seeking dealers for the new Tonino Lamborghini neighborhood electric vehicle
The Mojito FC— Manhattan Scientifics and Italy's Aprilia unveil their second fuel cell-powered motor scooter
New Push-Back— Charlatte is promoting a new airport tug powerful enough to push back a loaded 757... the diesel version is designed for easy conversion to a Charlatte-engineered battery electric drive
Export Opportunity— A new government in Bangladesh is encouraging the use of clean-fuel vehicles, says managing director Mustaque Ahmed of Dhaka-based Tri Star Intel, which wants to import them
John Deere (F&F StrategiesTM)— Manufacturer that's had great success with its 6081H natural gas engine in school buses now seeks to penetrate other markets with the 8.1-liter powerplant... Deere-powered utility crew trucks and refuse haulers are already entering service, transit buses look likely too
Listings in the May 13, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
Still, a Big Question Remains— The U.S. Senate has boosted, big time, overall market prospects for alternative fuel sales and AFV purchases by passing a generous package of alt fuel tax incentives... It's the bill the industry's been waiting for, but the big question now is whether the desired Senate provisions will make it past the Conference Committee, as they are not contained in the current House energy measure
Creative for Caltrans— Fountain Valley-based Creative Bus Sales has been designated the official provider of dedicated-CNG shuttle buses to California agencies and other organizations that use state money to purchase vehicles... Creative will supply 22- and 25-foot vehicles using E450 cutaway chassis from Ford and bodies from El Dorado National
eMotors' Heavy Hitters— Lee Iacocca came to San Francisco this past Monday to celebrate Earth Day by helping friend and associate Andy Carver (shown), a noted orthopedic surgeon, launch a new dealership for electric vehicles... San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown was on hand too
QuestAir— Canada's QuestAir Technologies is seeking strategic partners beyond the fuel cell vehicles field to help it commercialize proprietary oxygen and hydrogen purification technology it says 'improves the performance and reduces the cost of fuel cells and the infrastructure needed to refuel them'
The President and the Prince— Shown here is the propane-fueled pickup that's the President's regular ride at his 1,600-acre ranch in Crawford, Texas (with the truck is ranch foreman Kenneth Engelbrecht)... we're not sure, but we like to think Mr. Bush used the alt-fuel vehicle when he showed Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia around the ranch earlier this month, perhaps reminding that particular petroleum potentate that we've got as good bit of our own (clean) fuel right at home
World NGVs in Washington— The Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition is gearing up to host NGV2002, this year's world congress, in its own hometown this fall: the official magazine will be ShowTimes, a Fleets & Fuels affiliate
Targeting Transit— Texaco Ovonic Battery Systems, which has a new president and CEO in the person of Thomas Neslage, is putting together a new marketing and sales team for its nickel metal hydride batteries... a major emphasis will be the suitability of NiMH technology for large hybrid electric transit vehicles
Challenging CNG— California's Scott Alder Motorsports, eying major Los Angeles area fleet markets affected by new pollution rules, is challenging CNG with a dedicated-propane Crown Victoria... It'll be a SULEV, he says
Et Tu, ENRG?— ENRG has jumped on the hydrogen bandwagon, stating that it's 'initiated a collaborative research program for the advancement of hydrogen as an alternative vehicle fuel...' ENRG will emphasize infrastructure, starting in Southern California
Money for AFVs!!— The South Coast Air Quality Management District, the agency responsible for rules mandating purchase and use of clean technology vehicles in the Los Angeles area, is forming a new organization 'to secure long term funding sources for clean fuel vehicles and infrastructure...' AQMD's new Funding Alliance will meet on the morning of Tuesday, May 7 at agency headquarters in Diamond Bar, Calif.
Materials for Sale— Ballard Power Systems is offering its AvCarb P50T brand carbon fiber paper for fuel cell gas diffusion layers for general sale
It Doesn't Get Any Greener— Melis Energy is hoping to commercialize a process whereby hydrogen would be produced with no consumption of energy by genetically engineered algae
'Apples & Oranges'— The Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition is upset about information from the California Air Resources Board indicating that there are serious pollution problems from vehicles fueled by compressed natural gas... CARB used a diesel system that's not commercially available and a CNG system that's already been superseded by a better one, the NGV association says
ALA Soot Study— A study linking particulate pollution to lung cancer underscores the need for tighter controls on the part of the U.S. EPA, says the American Lung Association... 'It is the most definitive research yet linking tiny soot particles with lung cancer,' ALA maintains
On the Rise— The natural gas vehicles industry took its share of lumps in the 1990s, but during those challenging years natural gas made significant inroads in transit vehicles, according to the new 2002 Public Transportation Fact Book from Washington's American Public Transit Association
DRV Energy (F&F StrategiesTM)— Oklahoma City's DRV Energy offers vehicle conversion and fueling infrastructure services... the company has quietly been making a name for itself, in part by helping the U.S. Postal Service keep its older natural gas vehicles in service... school bus fleets are big DRV customers too
Listings in the April 29, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
You MUST Use This Alt Fuel— Minnesota enacts a law requiring that ALL diesel used in the state be at least 2 percent soy-oil biodiesel, or B2... It'll be some years before the statute takes effect, but it kicks in sooner if a local plant is built, which looks likely... Gov. Jesse Ventura, no friend of government meddling, but a friend indeed to the state's farmers, allowed the measure to pass
Energetic ENRG— California- and Canada-based company racks up an impressive record of new natural gas vehicle fueling projects... Norcal's line-upof LNG-fueled Peterbilt tractors for hauling refuse out of San Francisco is just one of many fleets using ENRG gas... several of the fleets are at major airports in Western states
No More of This Nonsense— Well, less of it anyway as new electric trolley buses in San Francisco not only can run on batteries but have automatic mechanisms for connecting to the overhead power lines... such vehicles may see service in Vancouver too, as Translink there gets ready to seek bids for several hundred buses
Clean Cities Preview— General Motors is planning to show several new natural gas vehicles at next month's Clean Cities gathering, including a compressed natural gas version of its Savana van (with new body for 2003, shown) and a new cutaway chassis for airport and other shuttle vehicles... there's a wide range of engine and wheelbase options, and they're all to be available as dedicated-CNG or bi-fuel gasoline-CNG vehicles
Some Like It Cold— Liquid hydrogen will ultimately be the best solution for fuel cell and hydrogen internal combustion vehicles because of its high energy density when compared with the compressed variety of the elemental fuel, according to a recent presentation to the California Air Resources Board by Linde AG... the venerable German industrial gas specialist is developing new, more user-friendly liquid hydrogen fueling hardware
UQM for FASTec— Massachusetts' Foundation for Advancing Science and Technology Education has picked a motor from Colorado's UQM Technologies for an experimental ALL-electric airplane, which eventually will be driven by a fuel cell
ZEV Incentives— The California Air Resources Board will meet later this month to discuss how to allocate what one electric vehicle advocate calls 'precious' money to stimulate the fledgling EV market... and make it more likely that automakers will meet the agency's nominal 10 percent ZEV sales mandate that begins with model year 2003
Dynetek Progress— Dynetek Industries continues to invest more than it's earning, but can point to strong revenue growth in 2001, and to significant inroads into new markets (i.e. hydrogen) as it continues to grow its base in CNG cylinder manufacturing
E85 Incentives— The government's incentive package for automakers to build alcohol-fueled cars, particularly E85 ethanol dual-fuel vehicles, will be extended another four years
Clean Two-Stroke— Michigan's Kaye Engineering is seeking commercialization help with a new design for a low-emission two-stroke engine... the conventional crankshaft design involves absolutely no mixing of fuel and oil, the company says, so the dirty exhaust that's historically plagued two-strokes is eliminated while fundamental efficiency is preserved
Listings in the April 15, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
Fuel Cell Bus Buy— The board of Alameda-Contra Costa Transit voted 6-0 on March 19 to buy four compressed hydrogen fuel cell buses, with three to be operated by AC and the fourth to go to Southern California's SunLine... the decision is believed to presage the first-ever transit agency purchase of a warranted fuel cell bus... the vehicles are to have drivetrain integration, with regenerative braking, by San Diego's ISE Research-ThunderVolt, with the fuel cells themselves supplied by UTC Fuel Cells... Belgium's Van Hool, manufacturer of the A330CNG vehicle shown here, is the likely supplier of the base vehicle
That Ain't All— Besides lining up the drivetrain responsibility for AC's Transit's new fuel cell buses, San Diego's ISE-ThunderVolt is integrating the drivetrains for a new generation of full-size, gasoline-fueled hybrid-electric transit buses for Omnitrans (shown), and is planning to offer a fuel cell-powered bus for fee-free transit agency trials after the Thor vehicle with UTC stacks is desert-tested by SunLine this summer
Ballard for Gilligs for VTA— The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority is looking to buy fuel cell buses and is in talks with Hayward, Calif.-based Gillig Corp and Ballard Power Systems about 40-foot vehicles with Ballard electric drivetrains
Stuart Hydrogen for CaFCP— Stuart Energy is getting closer to securing local permits to put in a hydrogen fueling facility for the California Fuel Cell Partnership in Richmond, about halfway between CaFCP's West Sacramento headquarters and San Francisco... it'll enable single-fill travel between the State Capitol and the Bay Area
Eco's New GlobeLink— Western Canada's Eco Fuel Systems is promoting its new Eco GlobeLink as a remote programming tool for natural gas vehicles offering 'a new level of calibration and diagnostic support in aftermarket fuel conversion'
SCI for Volvo S80— California's Structural Composites Industries says its contract with Volvo to supply CNG tanks for the S80 sedan could entail production of as many as 5,000 Type III carbon fiber-on-aluminum units this year
Azure Validated— Independent trials confirm the performance of Azure Dynamics' Smart Energy Management Control System for hybrid electric vehicles, demonstrating an average fuel economy improvement of 129 percent, Azure reports
Busy, Busy Westport— Ever-busy Westport Innovations has publicized two new business arrangements in line with its strategy of developing partnerships with larger companies... one involves supply of Westport injectors for an hydrogen-fueled BMW internal combustion engine, and the other is for exploration of NGV infrastructure opportunities in 'Europe, South America and other potential markets' with the Iqara unit of the UK-based BG Group
Hydrogen Roadmap— The U.S. Department of Energy is holting a conference in Washington this week addressing the Bush administration's 'National Hydrogen Vision...' the Hydrogen Roadmap Workshop is hosted by DoE's Energy's Office of Power Technologies and organized by Columbia, Md.-based Energetics
Bus Rapid Transit— The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Calstart/WestStart are hosting a meeting on Bus Rapid Transport at LACMTA headquarters next week... BRT is, essentially, the use of buses in special traffic lanes, seen as a more flexible and economical alternative to light rail and an opportunity for a new generation of super-clean hybrid electric vehicles
Mack Trucks (F&F StrategiesTM)— Pennsylvania's Mack Trucks promises to meet the pollution control needs of its customers on a case-by-case basis, with hardware and engine operating protocols based on vehicle use and environment... Mack is promoting a new line of ASET (application-specific engine technology) products for diesel engines, and offers a natural gas engine/vehicle option as well
Listings in the April 1, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
We'll Take It!— The U.S. Senate has overwhelmingly adopted amendments that would force parts of the vast federal fleet to purchase hybrid vehicles to replace light duty trucks... Michigan Democratic Senator Carl Levin was a key backer... The Senate rejected a bid to raise corporate average fuel economy numbers by statute, but left the Transportation Department free to raise them
New York LNG, Someday— Backers of liquefied natural gas in New York, including the state Department of Transportation, are pushing for Governor George Pataki to force a reluctant agency to write the rules necessary to legalize the super clean fuel there
Westport-Isuzu— Vancouver's Westport Innovations says it's stepping up with work with Japan's Isuzu Motors on advanced diesel engines... elsewhere Westport reports President Bush's backing of natural gas vehicles in China
His Coat-Tails are Indeed Long— UTC Fuel Cells publicizes a picture of president Bill Miller with President Bush... UTC talks up new development deals with Nissan and partner Renault for fuel cell vehicles
Globe 2002— Globe 2002, billed as a way to 'stiffen the spines' of politicians on the Kyoto Protocol, was held last week in Vancouver... Touted as the world's largest environmental business conference, the event drew numerous purveyors of advanced technology vehicles and key components
Getting Practical— Upcoming industry meetings including Clean Cities in Oklahoma and the European Natural Gas Vehicle Association's annual in France, reflect a new and invigorating pragmatism
California LNG, Tomorrow— ENRG and partners to inaugurate an LNG fueling station in Brisbane, south of San Francisco, tomorrow... ENRG's got two new airport filling stations to build, and the one at Seattle's SeaTac marks the firm's first project in Washington State
Zapped— Zap, which less than a year ago dropped the ZapWorld.com company name it adopted during the Internet boom, early this month filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U. S. Bankruptcy Code... at F&F presstime Zap disclosed a merger deal with three other northern California companies
Ansoft Advisor— Pittsburgh-based Ansoft Corp says it's merged a pair of software products and come up with a new design tool for electric, hybrid electric, and fuel cell vehicles
Battery Book— Total Battery Consulting offers proceedings of its 2nd International Advanced Automotive Battery Conference, held last month in Las Vegas... The next meeting looks to be in Nice, France in early May 2003
Honda (F&F StrategiesTM)— Honda is pursuing the fleet market with its dedicated compressed natural gas Civic GX, and consumers with its two-seat Insight and new five-seat Civic Hybrid electrically assisted gasoline vehiclesî the company owns 20 percent of Canada's FuelMaker, and has now taken an 18.4% equity stake in Seattle's Mobility, Inc., which operates car-sharing programs under the brand name Flexcarî Flexcar's seen using Honda hybrids and maybe the Civic NGV too
Listings in the March 18, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
A Billion Dollars Worth of Buses?— Chattanooga-based Advanced Vehicle Systems is in prime position as Taiwan seeks to replace 4,000 or more buses with diesel-fueled hybrid electrics over the next decade or less
Enova-Hyundai— Californian furthers its ties to Korean, is working with UTC and Quantum too, says to watch for even better fuel cell vehicles than were shown at the California Fuel Cell Partnership last year
Oshkosh ProPulseTM— Truckmaker promotes new ultracapacitor hybrid drive designed for a wide range of heavy-payload vehicles
NiMH for Allison?— GM-Allison, which has shipped a number of hybrid electric buses with ultracapacitors as the vehicles' power storage solution, is concerned with ultracap costs and appears to be leaning toward nickel metal hydride batteries
FedEx Names Names— FedEx Express has contracted with the Allison Transmission unit of General Motors, BAE Systems, and Eaton Corp, all three of which will lead teams to develop new hybrid electric drivetrains that could someday power a significant portion of the huge FedEx package delivery fleet
ETIC 2002— The Electric Vehicle Association of the Americas has begun promoting its annual Electric Transportation Industry Conference, which as previously reported in Fleets & Fuels will be held December 10-13
ENGVA in Nice— NGV Strategies: Focus On The Customer is the theme of the 8th Annual European NGV Conference organized by the Amsterdam-based European Natural Gas Vehicle Association
FuelMaker (F&F StrategiesTM)— Firm fuels the fleets and the forks and with Honda targets consumers... FuelMaker's new home refueler, which is a sense marks the return of the 12-year-old Canadian company to its roots, is being designed to handle hydrogen as well as CNG
Listings in the March 4, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
So Far So Good— Alternative fuel advocates are ecstatic as a key Senate panel passes legislation enacting significant benefits for alternative fuel vehicles, with an initial tax credit of 30 cents per gasoline gallon equivalent later rising to 50 cents for alt fuel use... Senator Orrin Hatch is The Man behind the bill passed last week by the Finance Committee... the legislation must still be approved by the full Senate, and be reconciled with a pending House version that lacks the tax credit and is less generous in terms of infrastructure incentives UCS Flunks Buses— The Union of Concerned Scientists, a staunch clean vehicle and fuel conservation advocate, blasts school bus pollution... and in California yet another study links air pollution and asthma in children
CaFCP Methanol— The California Fuel Cell Partnership's hydrogen fueling station in West Sacramento is to be augmented by a methanol installation by Methanex
J.D. Power Weighs In— Prestige consultant now offers a sales forecasting service aimed specifically at hybrid vehicles
Bettering the Battery— Adding a compressed natural gas-fueled Capstone microturbine dramatically improves the performance (but not the fundamental energy efficiency) of a Solectria CitiVan that had been a battery electric 164 for Washington— That's the CNG bus tally for DC Metro, which is getting plenty of attention as it deploys its new New Flyer buses... Hanover's doing the multimillion dollar fueling installation at DC Metro's Bladensburg yard NexGen Santa Monica— NexGen Fueling (Chart) is equipping both the buses and the fueling station for liquefied natural gas vehicles for Southern California's Big Blue Bus... the LNG installation will support the town's CNG fleets too Impco International— Impco talks up the big potential for deals in China and India, and in Europe as the European Commission sets aggressive goals for alternative fuel vehicles
New York State DoT(F&F StrategiesTM)— Simultaneous purchase of fueling capability and vehicles makes it possible for New York State's Department of Transportation to maintain a fleet of dedicated natural gas vehicles... 169 more are to be ordered in the coming weeks
Listings in the February 18, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
Plastic Fantastics— The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is spending $13.7 million on 30 Model 45C-LFW, compressed natural gas-fueled 'CompoBus' brand vehicles from North American Bus Industries... one LACMTA man says the lightweight composite-bodied buses will have more impact sooner than hybrid electric technology
Volt Jolt— A high-voltage, low-current system, combined with low-cost lead acid batteries and AC motors, makes for the cheapest and most efficient hybrid electric drivetrain on the nascent market, says Livonia, Mich.-based Paice Corp, which also says its technology will be the best choice for fuel cell vehicles
Reinventing the Automobile— General Motors not only has an electric drivetrain in its new AUTOnomy concept car, it has electrically, rather than mechanically controlled steering, brakes and other vehicle systems... that's GM president and CEO Rick Wagoner (left) and Advanced Technology Vehicles VP Dr. Larry Burns with the radical concept vehicle
ETIC 2002— The Electric Vehicle Association of the Americas has chosen Hallendale, Fla., between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, for ETIC 2002, the Electric Transportation Industry Conference... the meeting will be held December 10-12, 2002
Enter the Kingdom (Group)— New York City's Kingdom Group is stepping up its work on heavy duty natural gas vehicles, hosting a ceremony for Bronx-based Manhattan Beer, which will operate 15 of its beverage delivery trucks on CNG... the trucks are being re-powered with John Deere engines by Connecticut's Bell Power Systems
Feel Good with ZENN— Deciding that a conversion makes more sense than trying to design a new vehicle from scratch, Toronto's Feel Good Cars is promoting the ZENN (for zero emission, no noise) neighborhood electric vehicle, a two-seat, all-weather car based on France's Microcar... that's F&F webmaster Kirk Fetzer at the wheel at a recent San Francisco showing
New Suits— The initial General Motors litigation against California's model year 2003 zero emissions sales mandate was dismissed for being premature late last year, but automakers last month filed two more lawsuits, arguing that the California Air Resources Board overstepped its authority and violated its own regulatory procedures when adjusting the regulation late last year.
GFI-Autogas— GFI Control Systems parent Teleflex has acquired Holland's AG Autogas (Autogastechniek Holland), giving Canada-based GFI enhanced access to European and world markets
RAV4-EV Moves Ahead— Toyota is reaffirming plans to offer its nickel metal hydride-batteried RAV4-EV to retail customers in California... and to frustrated would-be takers among the state's numerous fleets
Money and Mines— Busy Cummins Westport has begun an inquiry into the use of natural gas vehicles in mining, while Westport Innovations has reported a quarterly sales surge of 161 percent H from 2— Teledyne and HyGen separately promote electrolysis-based hydrogen generating systems suitable for vehicles
Shell Hydrogen (F&F StrategiesTM)— Shell Hydrogen sees fuel cell fleet vehicles running on hydrogen made from natural gas as being the first to take the elemental fuel to the street... the oil giant has pledged to spend at least $500 million, and perhaps a billion dollars on hydrogen over five years
Listings in the February 4, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
Hybrid Bus Delays— Hybrid-electric Orion VII buses for New York City Transit are late... there are several reasons related to the challenge of attempting to bring out a new drivetrain technology, on a new bus platform, at the same time the government is increasing its demands for emissions reductions... key among them, with the widest implications, is that regulators don't recognize the fundamental advantages of hybrids for vehicle emissions reductions
How Embarrassing— A faulty fuel pump has nearly sunk a bold experiment to create a massive alternative fuel vehicle fleet and prove that non-gasoline fuels can work on a grand scale... Ford flex-fuel vehicles have, incredibly, been sold with fuel pumps that aren't compatible with ethanol
H Via CH4— The natural gas vehicles industry seems to be gathering new momentum as interest in fuel cells grows and NGV experts position their fuel and the products to handle it as the best way to transition to a hydrogen-based future... hydrogen will be a key topic at this year's big NGV meetings in France and Washington
113 More— New York State's Department of Transportation is buying 113 more Honda Civic GX vehicles, bringing the agency's total orders to 268 since late 1998
S.F. Muni Trolley Buses— The San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni) has taken delivery of approximately 40 of 273 trolley buses from Electric Transit, Inc., a joint venture of Skoda of the Czech Republic and Maryland's AAI Corp... the vehicles are spec'd to travel two miles on their Saft nickel-cadmium batteries alone, allowing drivers to handle temporary route changes and traffic emergencies
Bush Bets on Fuel Cells— The Bush administration has canceled Bill Clinton's Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles program, replacing it with an initiative dubbed FreedomCAR (for cooperative automotive research), targeting hydrogen fuel cell vehicles... the program was unveiled by Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham at the Detroit Auto Show
Gate Hold/Terror Toll— Georgia Power has warehoused millions of dollars worth of fast-charge equipment from AeroVironment because Delta Air Lines doesn't have the money to pay for the electric ground support equipment vehicles the AeroVironment chargers are intended to support... it's a scenario being played out around the country as airlines rethink their spending priorities in the wake of September 11
Can They Get the Cars?— The South Coast Air Quality Management District has approved nearly $3 million in incentive funding to help purchase more than 300 new, dedicated compressed natural gas taxis to serve Los Angeles area airports, but local fleets may find that there aren't enough Ford Crown Victoria taxis to go around
More Buses for Beantown— Cummins Westport says it's won a second large order for natural gas-fueled engines for Boston area buses as the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority wants 175 C Gas Plus engines for new North American Bus Industries vehicles to be ready through 2004... the new 175-unit order comes on top of a previous one for 124 engines... both include options to double making for a potential grand total as high as 598
Waiting, Waiting— Vehicle converters faced with certification fees they can't afford could get a break after all as the U.S. EPA may extend the exemption to Clean Air Act charges outlined in the agency's so-called 'Memo 1A' You CAN Take it with You— Buffalo's Clean Air Technologies International is promoting a portable emissions testing device it says allows operators to gather real, in-route emissions data on their vehicles
ENGVA 2020— The European Natural Gas Vehicle Association has created a Target 2020 working group to help the industry do its part to reach the ambitious clean vehicle goals set forth late last year by the European Commission LNG School— NexGen Fueling (Chart) is offering a free, two-day training course for liquefied natural gas at its Applied Technology location in Burnsville, Minn. (near Minneapolis) March 12-13
ECO Fuel Systems (F&F StrategiesTM)— Canada's Eco Fuel Systems offers high-performance systems for converting gasoline vehicles to natural gas or propane, with an emphasis on vehicle models that fleet operators can't otherwise get in alternative fuel versions... Eco Fuel products all boast fleet management/fuel use monitoring features... the firm has set up a subsidiary in Mexico and is expanding to Europe too
Listings in the January 21, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
Happy New Year!!— Dare we say it again, this is the year for alternative fuel vehicles? We always hope so, and we urge the AFVs industry le to make a market case for its products... We urge the government to help: more is at stake than clean air, and a chronically recalcitrant government may finally get a push behind a major lawsuit by environmentalists seeking to force compliance with the AFV fleet purchase stipulations of 1992's National Energy Policy Act... of even greater long-term importance, a 50-cent-per-gallon tax credit for alt fuel use is pending in Congress
Really Big Shows— Standouts at this week's big auto shows in Los Angeles and Detroit include the new Think City from Ford, shown here in L.A. with division president Jim O'Connor this past Friday, and DaimlerChrysler's Natrium borax fuel cell car in Detroit
ETIC 2001— Graziano Trasmissioni was among the companies mounting displays at last month's Electric Transportation Industry Conference in Sacramento ... the Italian promoted electric and mechanical drivetrain hardware for small electric vehicles like neighborhood EVs
One Way or Another— AC Propulsion made its RAV4-EV into a hybrid via the use of a an efficient trailer-mounted generator, and drove it to ETIC... similar components will be incorporated into a Volkswagen Jetta, resulting in a demonstrator vehicle that will be able to feed natural gas-derived electricity back into the utility grid
The L3 Parallel Hybrid— Vehicle designers from San Diego State are showing a plug-in parallel hybrid sportster with a drivetrain powerful enough for delivery vehicles like UPS and/or Federal Express trucks
Enova Link-Ups— Torrance, CA-based Enova Systems is forging ahead with a series of alliances with automakers on the sales end and component producers on the supply end for the development and production of electric vehicle drivetrains... the latest alliance is with Ford's Th!nk Group... Ford may take up to 4.6 percent of the outstanding Enova stock... that's a Hyundai Santa Fe SUV with fuel cell-powered Enova drive shown
Smart Electrification— Atlanta's eMotion Mobility has broken ground for a 30,000-square-foot plant in Hinesville, Ga. to install electric drives from Solectria in DaimlerChrysler Smart cars
Compliance for Sale— Novi, Mich.-based ZevXchange has an agreement with Columbia ParCar, a golf cart and industrial vehicle specialist that's weighing into neighborhood electric vehicles, to sell zero emission vehicle credits in California and other states with looming ZEV sales requirements
The Force Can be With You— Voltage Vehicles, a California-based alternative fuel vehicles distributor, and Massachusetts-based Solectria have agreed for Voltage to assemble and sell Solectria's Force four-door electric sedan throughout the United States
Better for Buses— San Diego's Maxwell Technologies is launching a new higher-capacity ultracapacitor, the TC2700, for hybrid (and other) electric vehicles
Chart for Phoenix— NexGen Fueling has an order to provide equipment for a large-scale liquefied natural gas fueling facility for the Phoenix Public Transit Department in Arizona
Curtis Instruments— The Mount Kisco, N.Y.-based purveyor of electric vehicle electronics is branching into AC controllers... the company has traditionally provided only DC hardware
To Europe!— Cummins Westport says it will offer large, certified-clean, natural gas-fueled engines for the European market... it's notched a new refuse truck fleet customer in California
NGV Champion Agarwal Dead at 54— Dr. Anil Agarwal, who founded India's Centre for Science and Environment in 1980 and served as its chair, died last week in Dehradun after a prolonged illness... Agarwal was a prolific and persistent champion of environmental causes in India, and despite his health recently issued a series of reports on the Indian government's failure to enforce a Supreme Court ruling that would have established a huge market for natural gas-fueled transit buses and other fleet vehicles there
GSM Vehicles (F&F StrategiesTM)— New York State's GSM Vehicles is using a combination of premium OEM chassis components and highly interchangeable body parts to build a new taxi dubbed the Manhattan, which as a wheelchair-accessible hybrid electric will be eligible for at least two sets of financial incentives for operators... BAE Systems is providing hybrid drivetrain hardware
Oklahoma Here We Come— This spring's Eighth National Clean Cities Conference in Oklahoma will have an official magazine: ShowTimes, an affiliate of Fleets & Fuels ... ShowTimes also appeared at last month's ETIC 2001 gathering in Sacramento... the Department of Energy-organized Clean Cities gathering is slated for May 12-15 at the Myriad Convention Center in Oklahoma City... Ford, General Motors and Honda are among the key sponsors
Listings in the January 7, 2002 issue of Fleets & Fuels
ETIC 2001— The Electric Vehicle Association of the Americas last week hosted the Electric Transportation Industry Conference in Sacramento, capital of the state that with its zero emission vehicle purchase mandate has done more than any other to stimulate the development of electric drive vehicles... The ETIC 2001 gathering was dubbed a great success by EVAA executive director Kateri Callahan: 'It exceeded every expectation...'
Beyond the Soap Box Derby— The new Natrium fuel cell vehicle from DaimlerChrysler runs on a borax-based hydrogen generation system from Millennium Cell said to offer the energy density and hence the vehicle range of gasoline... Natrium was unveiled at ETIC 2001
Very Clever— Cylinders on Honda's new Civic Hybrid shut down to improve its regenerative braking... the gasoline-fueled but electrically assisted vehicle got its first U.S. public airing at ETIC 2001
The Revolution— Colorado-based Hypercar weighed into ETIC 2001 with a new electric drive concept vehicle it says marks an innovative marriage of key technologies enabling the clean, economical car of the future... production partners avidly sought
Walk the Walk— Today's high-sounding talk of a cleaner and more efficient transportation future will come to naught without a stronger commitment to education, Dan Sperling, director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California at nearby Davis, said at ETIC 2001
RAV4-EVs for Sale— Toyota decides to offer the nickel metal hydride battery electric version of the popular sport utility vehicle for sale beginning in February... meanwhile a top Toyota advanced vehicles man says the Prius hybrid is already producing profits for the company
Desperately Seeking Credits— In the absence of a product of its own and no decision yet in its lawsuit against the California Air Resources Board, it's now clear that General Motors is casting about for a way to satisfy its California ZEV requirements, and is considering acquiring or buying ZEV credits from an upstart small EV developer
Wright's Chorus II— Ireland's Wright Bus is working on a new hybrid electric vehicle with electric drivetrain components from Enova Systems and a microturbine generator from Capstone Turbine
AVS for NYC— By next summer, residents, workers and businesses in lower Manhattan will be able to travel around the Wall Street area in ultracapacitor-equipped zero-emission buses made by Advanced Vehicle Systems
For Those Hard-Working Feds— Columbia ParCar, a golf car and utility vehicle manufacturer that's branching into road vehicles, is seeking California and federal approvals of its 2- and 4-passenger neighborhood EV, the NEV Commuter, and is participating in tests that could help NEVs become eligible for alt fuel vehicle purchase credits under the National Energy Policy Act, or EPAct
Saminco, Inc. (F&F StrategiesTM)— You say you haven't heard of Saminco? You will, as they're all over the EV industry... the Fort Myers, Fla.-based company manufactures solid-state controllers and motor drives for high-profile EV customers worldwide
Listings in the December 17, 2001 issue of Fleets & Fuels
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