Plug-in Hybrids and V2G technology

Date: Wednesday December 26, 2007
Posted in: Vehicles

In the U.S., transportation contributes about one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions –- with more than 60 percent of those emissions coming from personal vehicles. By accelerating the adoption of plug-in hybrids and vehicle-to-grid (”V2G”) technologies, this new project, RechargeIT.org, aims to reduce emissions and dependence on oil while promoting clean energy technologies and increasing consumer choice. Linking the U.S. transportation system to the electricity grid maximizes the efficiency of our energy system. From these efforts, we believe the environment will benefit — and consumers will have more choices to fuel their cars.

We’ve been working with Google engineers and Hymotion/A123Systems to build a small fleet of plug-in hybrids, adding an external plug and additional batteries to a regular hybrid car so that it runs on electricity with gasoline (or even better, biofuels) to extend the driving range for longer trips. Here’s what it looks like:

Since most Americans drive less than 35 miles per day, you easily could drive mostly on electricity with the gas tank as a “safety net.” Our goal is to demonstrate the plug-in hybrid and V2G technology, get people excited about having their own plug-in hybrid, and encourage car companies to start building them soon.

Full article:
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/06/clean-energy-update.html

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Aptera: The ‘Wingless Bird’

Date: Wednesday December 26, 2007
Posted in: Vehicles

A California startup says its airplane-inspired vehicle can deliver 300 mpg for under $30,000.

By Jacob Gordon of TreeHugger.com

Aptera (© Aptera) View pictures

Slated for initial production in late 2008, the Aptera will come in all-electric and plug-in hybrid models. Its name means “wingless” in Greek, and the Aptera’s body materials and aerodynamics are borrowed from light aircraft.

Full article:
http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=444375&topart=passenger

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