Acura ILX concept: would be an entry level model; a stylish sedan to be in showrooms later this year.

Acura NSX concept: Acura’s “halo car” sports coupe gets reintroduced with hybrid technology. The ILX and NSX are the first hybrids for Honda’s upscale Acura brand. Honda says it plans to build the NSX at a new plant they plan to build in Ohio. Hmmm, sounds like we should check back in 2-3 years and see if it happens at all.

Audi E-tron: sleek and powerful looking; wheels look like jet turbine blades

BMW Active Hybrid 3 & Active Hybrid 5 models: same look as their standard counterparts

BMW i3 concept: futuristic capsule, with windows that swoop well below the usual baseline of windows

BMW i8 concept: full frontal sports car
The BMW “i” vehicles will be built with a carbon fiber body instead of steel or aluminum, making them lighter, which extends their driving range.

Chevrolet Volt: sedan – and not just a concept
Fisker Karma: plug-in with rooftop solar panels that extend driving range
Ford electric Focus & Fusion: pretty much like other versions of the models

Lexus LF-LC concept: 2+2 hybrid sports coupe

Mercedes-Benz E300 BlueTec hybrid: looks much like non-hybrid diesel model; only for sale in Europe initially. We mentioned this in an earlier post.
Mercedes-Benz E400: gasoline-electric hybrid that looks no different than the non-hybrid version

Mitusbishi “i”: bean – or pod shaped? It’s your call; it’s much like their Japan market i-MiEV model

Nissan Leaf: just plain awkward looking

T.27 concept: a small car from Gordon Murray, designer of Formula One and the McLaren F1 supercar. This model has a pod-like shape that reminds one of a SmartCar & is intended to be low cost.

Tesla S: continues and updates Tesla’s traditional sports car coupe

Toyota NS4 concept: mid-size plug-in hybrid (Toyota says check back around 2015)

Volkswagen hybrid Jetta: much like the standard gasoline model
Volvo XC60 plug-in Hybrid concept: small SUV

Whew! Is that enough choices…? Most carry a significant premium over their conventionally powered counterparts, but — depending on fuel prices, the payback time period could be relatively short.

Amp is offering an electric conversion of the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee; yes, it looks just like the gasoline version & should, since it’s a conversion of same. Many of the auto makers are incorporating light weight materials into the body panels, and using a mix of recycled materials with virgin materials for the interior.

We wish automakers were offering more CNG models; the Honda Civic GX remains the only production CNG vehicle for the US market. If the NAT GAS Act were to become law, that could change.

The Detroit Auto Show is January 9-22, 2012.
Interested in more info about the show? click here to visit the show site Patience may be required; the website was overwhelmed earlier on the date of this post.

Obviously, market development is required for increased use of biomethane in the transport sector, and support in the U.S. currently lags well behind that in the EU. In an article available online, a UK Environmental Audit states that “biomethane is an almost perfect renewable transport fuel.” The audit concludes that wide adoption of CNG and biomethane for transport will deliver the greatest air quality benefits at the lowest cost, especially when compared to expensive battery powered hybrid electric vehicles.

NGV refueling stations are somewhat costly to install (though not significantly more costly than a new fossil fuel station) and are only commercially viable if they refuel a significant number of vehicles — such as a fleet. Therefore the market penetration of NGVs for personal vehicles suffers from a classic problem; fuel suppliers are reluctant to construct refueling stations until there are sufficient numbers of NGVs, and consumers are unwilling to purchase the vehicles until there are sufficient refueling stations.

How do we get past this longstanding issue? A 2011 European Commission (EC) report on smart gas grids concludes that NG fueling stations can be located near their existing natural gas grid, avoiding the need for a costly build out of new gas distribution infrastructure. A similar approach might significantly reduce the overall cost of NG fueling infrastructure development, even for geographically large countries such as the U.S. However, the U.S. would still have large NG fueling gaps in areas that are not along natural gas pipeline routes, so a focus on fueling for fleets continues to make sense economically. Locating fueling hubs near fuel feedstock supplies such as landfills and waste-water treatment facilities is likely to continue as a limiting factor for biomethane use, unless national energy policy supports NG as a transportation fuel on a long term basis.

The European Industrial Bioenergy Initiative (EIBI), is a related effort underway in the EU to accelerate commercialization of advanced sustainable bioenergy. The broadest objective of this organization is to bring sustainable energy and fuel products to market at costs competitive with fossil fuels. Biomethane is one of several paths being explored to bring cost effective renewable fuels to the market; developing coherent policy that promotes a willingness for industry to invest in alternative fuels and energy is a primary task.

Find clean fuel facts about biomethane and CNG at: firmgreen.com

Links to article sources:
UK Parliament Environmental Audit Summary (opens in new window or tab)

EC Report on Smart Gas Grids – biomethane references, pp15-16 (PDF opens in new window)

European Industrial Bioenergy Initiative (EIBI) (opens in new window or tab)

MV Industrial Egret is now slightly ahead of schedule as she nears Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Her last port call at Ilhéus in Bahia, Brazil went swiftly and the Egret is now back in route toward Rio — approximately 444 NM (nautical miles) from her most recently reported position of 17.59 S / 038.17 W as of noon local time (UTC -3) today, August 26th.

FirmGreen’s 2nd green technology shipment is aboard; soon to be offloaded and transported to the Novo Gramacho Landfill near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The USA-made equipment will be assembled on site, providing jobs for Brazilian workers as well as US workers who will assist in plant startup. Once operational, the biogas facility will clean dirty landfill gas to a pipeline quality biogas —biomethane—similar to natural gas. The project will create 200 or more long-term jobs, and benefit the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and displacing the use of dirtier fuels. Find out more about FirmGreen’s alternative energy and fuels at firmgreen.com

MV Industrial Egret has now turned slightly southwest, having “rounded the turn” of South America’s easternmost point. The vessel is now off the coast of Bahia, Brazil — about 323 NM from her next port call at Ilhéus.

MV Industrial Egret continues on a southeastward route as she nears the easternmost point of South America. The Egret’s route then turns slightly southwest toward her next port call at Ilhéus in Bahia, Brazil — 682 NM (nautical miles) from her most recently reported position of 04.57 S / 035.11 W as of noon local time (UTC -3) today, August 23rd.

MV Industrial Egret crossed the equator over the weekend and is now in the southern hemisphere, off the coast of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Though Hurricane Irene is surging northward through the Caribbean, that storm is well north of the Egret’s position and will not affect the ship’s progress. MV Egret continues on a southeastward route — 994 NM (nautical miles) from her most recently reported position of 02.22 S / 039.42 W as of noon local time (UTC -3) today, August 22nd.

Today, MV Industrial Egret is cruising off the coast of Venezuela as it continues toward its next port call. With shipment two of FirmGreen’s green technology cargo aboard, the Egret exits the Caribbean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean, passing Grenada to the north and Trinidad & Tobago to the south. Last week’s tropical storm slowed progress just a bit, and arrival at Parmaribo, Suriname is now expected on August 11th.

This shipment is part of FirmGreen’s export of green technology that will clean landfill gas, providing renewable natural gas fuel to power an industrial facility near Rio de Janeiro. The construction and operation of this facility will create skilled, long term jobs in the USA and in Brazil. Find out more about the project at: firmgreen.com.

Find out more about green technology for renewable energy at firmgreen.com

CCE has been so pleased with the results thus far that it plans to target its heavy duty fleet for conversion/replacement to run on biomethane.
More on this story at roadtransport.com

Waste Management (WM) rolled out its 1000th natural gas powered refuse truck just a few days ago, celebrating with a ceremony at its Carson, California fleet yard. With this vehicle, a full third of WM’s fleet is now powered with biomethane. The clean biomethane fuel is being sourced from a landfill in Livermore, California.

Does our commitment to a renewable and sustainable and secure energy future require from us a repudiation of these values? As we rolled towards the Pacific it became evident that this question should be, and will be, answered in the negative.

Our journey is finished for now: visit Google Maps to see our route across the USA

UPS has deployed 245 new delivery trucks powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to cities in Colorado and California, United States.

The new CNG trucks have been deployed over the past month to Denver (140) and to four cities in California: San Ramon (18), Fresno (16), West Los Angeles (59) and Ontario (12). The vehicles are part of UPS’s continued effort to reduce its emissions from the use of fossil fuels like gasoline and diesel and lower its carbon footprint.

UPS began deploying alternative fuel vehicles in the 1930s with a fleet of electric trucks that operated in New York City . Today, UPS operates one of the largest private fleets of alternative fuel vehicles in its industry, more than 1,900 in total with these additions. Since 2000, the company’s green fleet has traveled more than 165 million miles.

Bob Stoffel, UPS senior vice president of supply chain, strategy, engineering and sustainability, said that the greening of its fleet demonstrates the effectiveness of harnessing multiple technologies and applying the right vehicles to areas where they will provide the best advantage. He added that Compressed Natural Gas continues to be a sustainable technology for UPS’s fleet because natural gas is cost effective, clean-burning and abundant.

UPS, a member of the EPA Climate Leaders, first deployed CNG-powered delivery trucks in the 1980s. At the time, UPS purchased traditional gas- or diesel-driven vehicles and converted them to run on compressed gas. The 245 trucks deployed over the past month were built from scratch as CNG vehicles. They join more than 900 CNG vehicles already in use by UPS worldwide.

The CNG truck bodies are identical externally to the signature-brown trucks that comprise the UPS fleet. Marked with decals as CNG vehicles, the trucks are expected to yield a 15 percent emissions reduction over the cleanest diesel engines available in the market today. More information at: usagasvehicles.com

AT&T Plans to Deploy 8,000 NGVs

Natural gas vehicles are popular in markets around the world, with major automakers like Fiat and Volkswagen producing gaseous fuel vehicles to fit a variety of needs. Unfortunately for U.S. consumers, major automakers here have been absent from the light-duty natural gas vehicle market since the early 1990s. Today, the Honda NGX is the only production vehicle available stateside that operates on natural gas. Customers – mostly fleets operated by companies such as AT&T – opting for this alternative fuel must turn to specialty companies that can provide appropriate light-, medium-, and heavy-duty natural gas products for transit use ranging from shuttle buses and limousines to delivery vans and taxis.

AT&T announced their alternative fuel vehicle program in 2009. As part of AT&T’s program to deploy more than 15,000 alternative-fuel vehicles over the next five years – with some 8,000 of these expected to be natural gas – BAF Technologies has become a major part of this alternative fuel program.

BAF is the leading provider of natural gas vehicle systems and conversions in the United States. Recently acquired by Clean Energy Fuels (Nasdaq: CLNE), BAF is well positioned to churn out natural gas vehicles. Through AT&T, BAF is planning to convert a total of 1,850 Ford E-Series vans to compressed natural gas in 2010. This follows an initial conversion of 600 E-250 vans to natural gas as part of a 2009 contract with AT&T. BAF is also exploring additional conversions of other vehicle types, including Ford F-Series trucks, which could be made available through its national dealer network.
More information can be found at: BAFtechnologies.com and att.com

Here’s only a partial list:
Mercedes-Benz has NG powered B Series vehicles available in Europe and Canada, a B170 NGT and B180 NGT. Both models are bi-fuel, meaning they operate on either natural gas or gasoline. The B-Class 180NGT compact van has a range of 192 on natural gas, but can be switched to gasoline with the push of a button (while driving). The compact vehicle was displayed at the Washington, D.C. Auto Show in early 2009 and word is that Mercedes is considering US distribution, but it’s still not available stateside as of this post.

Also from Mercedes, the Econic NGT line of trucks is offered in Europe, where over 950 are on the road in municipal operations, distribution, and garbage collection. Sita (subsidiary company of Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux), a prviate-sector waste disposal company in Sweden has more than 70 of its 81 NGVs operating on biomethane derived from sewage sludge and landfill facilities. A tractor trailer Econic NGT model is operating in Germany.

In Greece, Econic NGTs are in use for garbage collection.

Since the Econic NGT vehicles can operate on biogas, their operation is virtually carbon neutral. The line meets the stringent EEV emission standard (Enhanced Environmentally Friendly Vehicle) which entitles the vehicles to bear a “Blue Angel” environmental seal and allows them to be driven in low-emission zones. For more info about the Blue Angel designation, click here

Want to know more about biomethane – or CNG from biogas? Click here

Volkswagen unveiled the natural gas Passat TSI EcoFuel at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show, and market launch followed in early 2009. The dual-fuel vehicle has an impressive theoretical range of up to about 558 miles with both its CNG and petrol tanks, though the gas tank serves only as a reserve. By itself, the natural gas supply is enough for a range of about 310 miles (or nearly 500km). The turbocharged vehicle boasts a top speed of 130 mph (210 km/h), offering sporty performance along with great fuel economy. Suzuki has NGVs available for Asia and the Pakistan markets. None of these passenger vehicles is offered in the US market.

Fiat Group Automobiles is a global leader in developing, building and marketing NGVs, selling more than 175,000 vehicles for years 2008 and 2009. They boast the widest range of duel fuel vehicles that use natural gas: Panda Natural Power, four-wheel-drive Panda Climbing Natural Power, Punto Natural Power, Multipla Natural Power, and Fiat Doblò Natural Power. All can run on gasoline or compressed natural gas (CNG) – or ‘methane,’ as Fiat calls CNG.

With Fiat’s purchase of Chrysler, does this mean that American car buyers will soon have more choices for an OEM NGV than Honda’s NGX? We can only hope so: Fiat’s extensive collaboration with fuel companies to establish CNG stations in Europe and Brazil could bode well for solving the lack of CNG infrastructure in the US, and make NGVs a popular option for US consumers who want to drive an alternative fuel vehicle. Stay tuned!