New Study: Using U.S. Farmlands for Biofuel Production will Increase Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Ethanol supply produced from corn grown on U.S. croplands has been increasing and is thought by some as an opportunity to reduce petroleum consumption. Indeed carmakers like GM have been promoting E85 engines, and the U.S. government has been subsidizing farmers to produce corn.
The use of corn ethanol as being net energy positive [...]

GM Announces Cellulosic Ethanol Production Breakthrough by New Partner, Coskata Inc.

Corn can be converted into ethanol, but yields only about a 30% increase in energy over what is put in and of course requires food crop to make it. Being able to use other sources of carbon such as biomass or switchgrass is important if ethanol use in the U.S. is to become widespread.
Making [...]

Fuel Cell Chevy Volt for Production in 2011

USA today recently published a piece including an interview with Larry Burns, GM’s VP of R&D.  Burns described GM’s push to develop fuel cell cars as a competitive race with other auto manufacturers, who he’s paranoid are up to the same thing.
He is further quoted as saying that GM could deliver production fuel cell cars [...]

Project Driveway Begins: GM-Volt.com Test Drive of the Chevy Equinox Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Car

As we have reported, GM has started it’s Project Driveway program in which 100 hydrogen fuel cell cars will be loaned to 100 U.S. drivers in NY, LA, and DC. Here in NY, I had the chance to drive off in one of these Equinoxes and recorded the experience in the video below the post.
In [...]

The Garage Doors Have Opened on Project Driveway

We have been hearing for a while about GM’s project driveway (see post). This refers to their large-scale experiment in which 100 people will get to use Fuel Cell Equinoxes for several months of real world driving.
Originally slated to begin in the fall, the official word is that it has begun.
The first individuals and [...]

Oil Hits $88 per Barrel!

You thought $80 a barrel was a lot?
Add 10% (LINK)
Better get those batteries fired up or no-one will be driving soon!
Thanks to Nick for pointing it out to us.

New Semiconductor Splits Hydrogen From Water Using Solar Energy

from Angewandte Chemie (International ed.) [1433-7851] Ritterskamp yr:2007 vol:46 iss:41 pg:7770 -7774

This isn’t exactly brand new, but I think very important.
A researcher at the Max Planck institute named Martin Demuth an colleagues have developed a semiconducting material called titanium disilicide (TiSi2). When this material is suspended in water and exposed to sunlight, it splits water [...]

Project Driveway Update

For those of you who might not know, Project Driveway is the name GM is giving to a modestly-large scale hydrogen fuel cell vehicle test it is planning.
For the event, GM will be giving out 100 hydrogen-powered Chevy Equinoxes to selected and fortunate parties in the U.S. located in L.A., N.Y.C., and Wash D.C. [...]

Could This Be the Volt’s Combustion Engine: GM Demonstrates HCCI Motor for 1st Time in Driveable Car

HCCI stands for Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition, and is a new type of combustion engine paradigm. Traditional engines, with which we are all familiar, use spark ignition (SI). In that system, a spark plug fires and ignites the fuel in the combustion chamber forcing the piston to move. In HCCI engines, the [...]

It May Not be the Last Call for Alcohol After All…

Yesterday I wrote a post indicating that GM planned to remove E85 capability from the Volt’s onboard generator. Those of you that were sad, put your tissues away, those who were happy put away your party hats. GM spokesman Rob Peterson has said that GM has not changed to the production plan to [...]

GM May Pull the Plug on E85 Capability for the Chevy Volt

We have some new and unsubstantiated information from anonymous sources that GM has decided to remove E85 capability from the Chevy Volt’s on-board internal combustion engine/generator.
One of the promotional points of this concept vehicle when it was first announced was the E-Flex system. The “E” stands for electricity, we understand the concept of the [...]

FACT: Chevy Volt’s Generator to Start When Battery Power Drops to 50%

We have been discussing the cost of operating the Volt. In particular I have focused on what the electric cost will be to drive the first 40 miles without gas (or E85). We knew the battery holds 16 KWH of energy, but it hasn’t been clear how much of the battery would be discharged [...]