Imagine combining the best attributes of gasoline and diesel engines into one system and reaping fuel economy numbers that rival today’s gasoline-electric hybrids like the Toyota Prius. Engineers have been dreaming this dream for years, but have been stymied by the problems such engines have to overcome.
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Earthgarage – Greener Car. Fatter Wallet.
In an earlier post I mentioned that electric vehicles alone are not the solution, but must be coupled with a new, clean-energy grid in order to maximize both efficiency and practicality. Fortunately, Shai Agassi, the CEO and founder of Better Place, a Palo Alto based company that developed a battery swap system for electric vehicles (EV), has turned this long-awaited dream into a reality.
The greatest hurdles for Agassi were the high costs of electric cars and the “range anxiety” that affect many potential buyers. According to the Associated Press article, “Electric car network gets first test in Israel,” Better Place addressed these concerns by eliminating the fixed battery. ”Instead, drivers can swap their depleted batteries for fully charged ones at a network of stations, receiving a full, 160-kilometer (100-mile) range in five minutes.” Essentially, you can be on your way with a fresh, fully-charged battery in the same time it would take to fill up a conventional automobile with gasoline. Currently, Better Place has four battery swap stations in place throughout central and northern Israel; however, 40 stations are expected to be operating across the country by the end of this year.
The Renault Fluence at a demonstration in Tel Aviv, Israel
Earthgarage – Greener Car. Fatter Wallet.
Estimated household cost for retail gas in April, 2011 (source: CNN Money)
The company has plans to expand into Denmark and Australia later this year. As far as U.S. expansion is concerned, Better Place currently has small-scale projects in place in Hawaii and California. Having founded the company less than 5 years ago, Agassi has proven skeptics wrong and succeeded in incorporating a fundamental piece into the “green” puzzle. Hopefully, with time, we’ll all live in a Better Place.
Voith has introduced its patented SensoTop technology for heavy-duty transit buses into the North American market. SensoTop is designed to optimize bus transmission gear-shifting to reduce fuel consumption, saving transit systems money.
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Earthgarage – Greener Car. Fatter Wallet.
A car with a manual transmission is a lot more fun to drive but also got you better gas mileage. Those days may be over.
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Earthgarage – Greener Car. Fatter Wallet.
In the world of alternative fuels, electric, hydrogen and even hybrid vehicles get most of the attention. Not many people are aware of another alternative automotive fuel that burns cleaner than gasoline, is found abundantly in the United States and is already in heavy use around the world: natural gas. Natural gas is by no means a new fuel; it’s been used to heat homes and cook food in gas stoves for more than a century. But only recently have automotive technicians begun exploring the possibility of using natural gas as an alternative to gasoline in automobiles here in the United States.
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Earthgarage – Greener Car. Fatter Wallet.
