Electrotherm in talks to acquire US-based Firefly

Gujarat’s electric two-wheeler maker Electrotherm India Ltd(EIL) is looking to acquire Illinois based lead acid battery manufacturer Firefly Energy. The US-based company has already filed for bankruptcy in March. EIL owns the popular electric scooter brand ‘Yobykes’.

“Yes, negotiations are in a very advanced stage with Firefly. It makes electric batteries, and is a suitable acquisition target for us as there are significant synergies. The company has already filed for bankruptcy in the US,” confirmed a highly placed source in the company. However, he refused to divulge details on the probable deal size, but Electrotherm could be purchasing Firefly’s assets.

Firefly has a loan of over $6 million with PNC Bank. Peoria City and County are the guarantors for the loan who are now moving forward with an agreement to allow Electrotherm to buy Firefly’s assets including its patents for batteries. Sources in Electrotherm said that they are cautiously optimistic that a deal would work out whereby EIL would be able to acquire Firefly’s assets.

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Pollution and Inflation: Two Worst Evils EV Revolution the Only Savior

On the other day I witnessed a Business Presentation by an Economic Advisor of a leading member nation of the OPEC.

It was heartening to hear that they are able to control inflation within 2 % for a longer period during the last decade. Though I raised the question on the ‘secret behind it ‘, I knew the reasons behind that. It is only their control on the Crude Oil Prices and the fact that Black Gold only controls the   International Economy which is dependent on Petroleum Products’ price and fluctuations. It is no longer a Gold based or US $ based one. You can find that there will always be a direct relation between the prices of Yellow Gold & Black Gold .The reaction for Yellow Gold mostly arises in Indian homes but the Black Gold will affect the whole world.

We have forgotten the Panchayat Raj or the Dharmakartha principle of M K Gandhi. We are wasting our time, energy & money to the new Maharajas of this hereditary democracy and the 1000 and odd families of leading politically strong families of various parties. Only the flags change and not the attitudes.  Our young I T Professionals are sold by body shopping to earn the crucial US $s  . But the local Maharajas and Slaves in India waste the US $s in unnecessary commuting  using the conventional automobiles within India due to wrong economic policies without any regulations on conservation of Petrol & other Energy .  There is always a geometrical proposition of increase in inflation due to increase in petrol/diesel prices. We have never adopted the district level planning and development. We have no power plants installed district -wise and education or other infrastructures established district-wise. We always think of large and waste a large and bring in unnecessary logistics .These logistics need lot of petrol or diesel. It is all to give business to the OPEC .OPEC maintain their internal inflations well by 100 % export of their inflation along with the Barrels of Crude Oil. We work hard with kaizen or continuous improvements & productivity [in private sectors only] to pay for the inflation .Our Finance Ministers & RBI have no control on this. They are only periodically adjusting taxes & interest rates to meet the Crude Oil Bills. Our Government Employees including the Maharajas [ M Ps & MLAs ] also get compensated at periodical intervals without any relevance to the contribution.

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Printed Electronics without boarders

EVHUB Exclusive ! 

For Immediate Release
2 September 2010
Printed Electronics Without Borders
Cambridge, UK

Printed Electronics Without Borders
by Dr. Harry Zervos, Technical Analyst, IDTechEx

Printed Electronics are being developed by over 3,000 companies, universities and research institutes worldwide. Although a significant percentage of these developers are located in countries such as the USA, Germany, Japan and South Korea, there's a lot of research effort in other countries also, even if the concentration of active companies active is lower. The two examples described below are the CSIRO in Australia and the A*Star-IMRE in Singapore.

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)

National Research Flagships are large-scale multidisciplinary research projects initiated by CSIRO in 2003. The flagships program is one of the largest scientific research endeavours ever undertaken in Australia, with the total investment to 2010-11 expected to be close to A$1.5 billion.The Future Manufacturing National Research Flagship's goal is to create new or significantly transform existing high value-adding, export-oriented sectors to improve the future competitiveness of Australian manufacturing delivering A$3 billion of impact by 2020.

The Flagship for Future Manufacturing, with a budget of A$36.2 million over four years, will:
help existing high value segments of the manufacturing industry become more competitive in global supply chains

-       develop globally competitive medical products
-       identify next generation fabricated devices
-       capture value from nanotechnology for new materials
-       develop new products and processes exhibiting low environmental footprint, and addressing CO2 and other emission targets.

The Future Manufacturing Flagship research themes are divided into three main categories and include biomedical manufacturing, cleantech and flexible electronics.

While Cleantech Manufacturing will support the growth of green jobs in the Australian manufacturing sector through the development of new products and processes, the flexible electronics theme will develop disruptive technologies and products such as photovoltaic cells and printable polymer electronics delivering outcomes in the energy, materials, health and environment domains.


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Electric vehicle market grows with advent of mega cities

Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers and dealers will be pleased with the rising trend towards de-urbanization polarization of vehicle sizes. By 2020, the emergence of mega super cities in developing economies will affect personal mobility, driving the demand for EVs.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, 360 Degree Perspective of the Global Electric Vehicle Market – 2010 Edition, examines the following markets: neighborhood EVs (NEVs), city EVs (CEVs), extended-range EVs (eREVs) and high-performance EVs (HPEVs).

“Most offices that are expected to move to the first-belt suburbs and city centers will encompass the shopping areas (small-scale deliveries) and living areas for ‘double/single income, no kids’ households,” said Frost & Sullivan’s automotive and transportation group team leader, Anjan Hemanth Kumar. “In mega cities, offices and homes are likely to be adjacent to each other, creating a favorable environment for EV deployment.”

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China to issue 15 electric car standards in second half

To boost domestically-produced electric vehicles, the Chinese government will issue 15 relevant electric vehicle standards in the second half after figuring out it should mainly focus on promoting pure-electric vehicles to develop its automobile industry, Beijing Times reported Thursday.

Reporters learned from the drafting standards for electric vehicles that related items such as battery box specifications, voltage/current reference, battery recycling, batter replacement requirements, charging station monitoring, billing, security, battery box number will all be standardized.

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Car Charging Group Partners With Kobi Karp Architecture & Interior Design to Incorporate Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Into Company's Designs Concepts

Car Charging Group, Inc.an owner and provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations with the mission to build-out a nationwide infrastructure, announced a strategic partnership to incorporate electric vehicle (EV) charging stations into both existing projects as well as future design offerings of Kobi Karp Architecture & Interior Design (KKAID) (www.kobikarp.com), located at 2915 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, FL 33137-4197, a vertically-integrated and award winning firm specializing in international architecture, planning and interior design.

"Our portfolio includes luxury high-rise mixed-use developments, world-class hospitality and entertainment centers, high-end commercial and retail spaces. We have a long history in sustainable development. In April 2007, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) recognized Baylights Condominium, a design project we spearhead, as the first green residential building in South Florida," said Kobi Karp, principal and founder of KKAID. "Access to charging stations for electric cars is the next must-have accessory in upscale housing and forward-thinking developers are demanding this feature be incorporated into design plans as a perk to distinguish their offerings from competitors."

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Plug-in Electric Vehicle Sales to Hit 3.2 million Units by 2015

U.S. will be 26% of the market with China at 27% of the market

President Obama is putting a lot of emphasis during his term on moving America towards greener vehicles to reduce pollution and the need for foreign oil. Key vehicle technologies that will help enable us to make the move are hybrid and electric vehicles. Growth in both of those vehicle markets is set to boom over the next five years.

Pike Research has announced a new report that looks at the growth of the battery power electric (BEV) and plug-in electric hybrid vehicle (PEHV) market over the next five years from 2010 to 2015 and how that market will grow around the world. According to the research firm, over the next five years China will emerge as the top adopter of PEHV and BEVs with 3.2 million sold over that period for an annual compounded growth rate of 106 percent.

Coming in a close second for the same period according to Pike Research will be the United States. The research firm estimates that in the U.S. 841,000 of these vehicles will be sold accounting for 26 percent of the global market. China by comparison is expected to move 880,000 PEHVs and BEVs for 27 percent of the global market.

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Amman Gov't to introduce electric cars in bid to go green

Starting next year, several electric cars will be introduced to public agency fleets as part of the country's commitment to adopt eco-friendly practices, the government said on Wednesday.

The Nissan LEAF, manufactured by Nissan Motor Co., Lt., will be introduced in the public sector in 2011 to help the Kingdom reduce carbon dioxide emissions, preserve the environment and cut expenditures on fuel, Minister of Environment Hazem Malhas said in a press conference yesterday to announce the measure.

"I believe that we have an obligation to future generations to take the necessary actions towards a greener and better world," Malhas said, noting that the cars will be exempted from custom fees.

Under a memorandum of understanding signed yesterday in the presence of Prime Minister Samir Rifai, Jordan and Nissan will work to promote electric vehicles as an energy-saving alternative to help Jordan achieve energy independence and protect the environment.

Under the agreement, Jordan will consider the purchase of up to 300 Nissan LEAFs for public agencies, according to the Ministry of Environment.

The vehicle's motor produces up to 80 kilowatts and 280Nm of torque, enough for a maximum speed of 140 kilometres per hour. The electric motor is powered by a laminated lithium-ion battery with a power output of more than 90 kilowatts, according to Normand.

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Tata pulling out all stops to investigate Nano fires

"Rather than jumping to a conclusion, we are having a thorough investigation," said Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata Motors, referring to recent incidents of the Nano catching fire. He was addressing shareholders at the company's annual general meeting here on Wednesday.

"There are four or five cases of the Nano catching fire. We are going through a detailed investigation on each of them.

In some cases we found some foreign material on the exhaust system," Mr Tata said. "As and when we are able to determine the problem, we will give a response.we will make a statement. As far as I am concerned, there are 50,000 Nanos in the market. Four or five cases (of fire) do not indicate there is a problem with the car," he added.

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How Clean and Green are Electric Vehicles? It All Depends…

All electric vehicles (EVs) cause carbon emissions, unless all of the electric generation used to charge the batteries comes from non-fossil based sources such as wind, solar, hydro etc. For the foreseeable future we expect utilities to have an evolving resource portfolio. Maybe we’ll see 20 – 30 percent non-fossil generation mix by 2050. Who knows? But, even if we accelerate the widespread building of nuclear power plants, we’re going to have fossil (mostly coal) generation for a long time.

The eco-friendliness of EVs all depends on how and when the batteries are charged. The usual electric vehicle charging paradigm has the batteries being charged overnight at home or in a company’s fleet garage. In fact, a number of utilities are offering special rates for charging EVs on off-peak hours. That makes sense from a system cost standpoint, using the least expensive base-load generation.

But those incentives may encourage maximizing total EV-related carbon emissions, particularly in areas with growing solar and wind resource penetration. That’s because little or no solar generation is available during the proposed early-evening or night charging period. Also, in some areas, (such as the Altamont Pass wind farm in Northern California), higher wind speeds often coincide with peak load hours (due to hot inland convection currents pulling in the off-coast cooler air).

There’s another disadvantage to having the EV batteries connected to the system only on off-peak hours: the utility is prevented from taking advantage of EV battery storage for system support during periods of high system demand - a very attractive idea that’s been tossed around for years.

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Nissan to take orders for its Leaf electric car starting today

The automaker has been accepting reservations for a refundable fee of $99, and already has 18,000 pre-orders, according to John Schilling, Nissan spokesman – with a goal of reaching 20,000 by December. More than half of the reservations are from people in the five states where the Leaf will have its initial rollout.

The rollout will be staggered. The first vehicles will go to drivers in Arizona, Tennessee, California, Washington and Oregon, then in January to Texas and Hawaii. The car maker expects the Leaf to be available everywhere in the U.S. by the end of 2011.

Officially, Nissan declined to comment on the date orders will start, saying only that it “will happen soon,” but it’s being reported that a Washington dealership has posted on Mynissanleaf.com that tomorrow’s the big day.

Dealers are reportedly being instructed on how to convert those reservations into orders, with buyers able to choose options for their vehicles, one of which is a $700 fast-charge option that can recharge your car to 80% capacity in just 30 minutes.

The car is certainly in high demand: car rental heavyweight Hertz plans to offer the Leaf in the U.S. and Europe. The Leaf also has cool features like iPhone integration that will allow owners to check the car’s charging status remotely and adjust the temperature of the car before they hop in.

And with the Chevrolet Volt and Coda sedan set to be released by the end of the year, this may well be The Year of Electric Cars. The Leaf being the first of its kind has already taken some dings from other electric-vehicle makers, notably Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, who called Nissan’s battery technology comparatively “primitive.” And it’s not clear where the payoff is for consumers: Mitsubishi, which is releasing its own electric car at the end of 2011 – the miEV, told the BBC that electric cars could be more expensive to own than regular gas-based cars due to rapid depreciation and the high cost of replacing the battery once it dies.

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Vehicles may get letter grades for fuel efficiency

Vehicles would get an "A+" to "D" grade, and the median grade would be a "B-." No vehicle would get a failing grade. To get an "A," a vehicle would have to average at least 59 miles per gallon; to avoid a "D" a vehicle would have to average at least 14 mpg.

Fully electric vehicles, such as the Nissan Leaf, would get an "A+," while a plug-in hybrid would get an "A." Many hybrids like the Ford Fusion hybrid and Toyota Prius would get an "A-." The Ferrari 612 would be one of those gas-hungry high-performance vehicles that would get a "D."

No van would rate higher than a "C+" and most SUVs would get a "C+ or lower. Some versions of the Toyota Tundra, Nissan Titan, Cadillac CTS, Lexus 570 and GMC Sierra 15 would all get a "C-."

The move could dissuade some consumers from buying the biggest, most polluting vehicles on the roads. The new design also will provide consumers with an estimate of the expected fuel cost savings over five years, compared to an average gasoline-powered vehicle of the same model year.

The second proposed label would retain the label's focus on miles per gallon and annual fuel costs, while updating the overall design and adding the required new comparison information on fuel economy and emissions.



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61st Mahindra Great Escape concludes successfully in Chikmagalur

The 61st edition of the Mahindra Great Escape, one of India’s most loved off-roading adventures, concluded successfully in Chikmagalur with over 70 vehicles from the Mahindra stable manoeuvring the challenging route. Mahindra customers from Chikmagalur and its neighbouring areas, including Bangalore and Mangalore, participated in the rally. The Chikmagalur event received an overwhelming response from offroading enthusiasts, leaving everyone asking for more.

The rally was flagged off at 10:00 am from The Gateway Hotel, K.M. Road, Opposite Pavitravana
Jyothinagar Post, Chikmagalur. Iconic Mahindra SUVs such as the Scorpio, Bolero, Getaway, Legend, Major and Classic negotiated an arduous route of over 70 km. The convoy of vehicles negotiated rocky terrain, slush, canals and streams, passing through Vasant Cool Estate, Karemane, the paddy fields and forests of Hukkunda, Kodal and Aladagudde before returning to the hotel.

“We are delighted to be in Chikmagalur, for the 61st edition of the Mahindra Great Escape. The scenic yet challenging route was an off roader’s delight and gave Mahindra customers an idea of the tough and enduring nature of Mahindra vehicles. The adrenaline rush was palpable and the atmosphere was charged. Real time tweets and updates on various social networking sites by participants further added to the overall excitement of the rally. We plan to return with yet another fun-filled edition of the Great Escape, shortly,” said Mr. Vivek Nayer, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

This edition of the Mahindra Great Escape was conducted in association with JK Tyres, Bosch and Servo Lubricants. The Mahindra Great Escape route was chalked out by the Mahindra team, while the ‘With You Hamesha’ service team ensured that participants could enjoy the rally unhindered.

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Your Car Would Have to Get 70 MPG to Be as Clean as an Electric Car, Study Finds

Are electric cars less catastrophic for our future climate than gasoline cars? Well, duh. But, here’s another study carefully poring over the evidence and showing it to be the case. At least for Europe.

A team of Empa scientists made a detailed life cycle assessment of the current state of the art lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries used in electric vehicles, and published it in the scientific journal “Environmental Science & Technology.”
Comparing not just the energy sources of gasoline-powered versus electric-powered cars, but also comparing an exhaustively detailed full life-cycle analysis of every step to make a battery versus a combustion engine: what did the researchers find?
The EV is the cleaner way to go. This is contrary to widely spread beliefs – based on the earlier lead-acid and nickel metal-hydride (NiMH) batteries – that batteries are dirty to manufacture. Also, the common misconception that running electric cars on coal power would be worse for the environment than running gasoline cars on gasoline.
Researchers at Empa’s “Technology and Society Laboratory” calculated the ecological footprints of electric cars fitted with Li-ion batteries, taking into account all possible relevant factors, from those associated with the production of individual parts all the way through to the scrapping of the vehicle and the disposal of the remains, including the operation of the vehicle during its lifetime.

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Auto in India

India is one of the few markets that saw growing passenger car sales during the recession of the past two years. In fact, in 2009-10, it recorded its highest volumes ever. A new KPMG report, The Indian Auto Industry: Evolving Dynamics, projects that the twin phenomena of low car penetration and rising incomes, when combined with increasing affordability of cars, will continue to drive India’s auto demand upwards. While quite a few new vehicles launched in the Indian market have been developed locally, vehicle affordability remains a significant concern. Although the price of an average motorcycle in India (about $900) is comparable to the average per capita income, the price of passenger cars have a long way to go. Although the entry level car (Nano) is priced at around $2,500, the passenger cars market could grow multi-fold if there is a breakthrough of another price level in the years to come.

In recent times, electric two-wheelers have ridden on the back of customer demand for vehicles with lower running costs, as well as some incentives to users in the form of little or no duties on electric vehicles (and parts) in areas such as New Delhi.

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America based Fuel cells developer NEAH Power signs letter of intent with Bangalore based Eko Vehicles, to explore acquisition or merger plans

US based fuel cells developer; NEAH Power reported Friday that it had signed a letter of intent with Indian firm, Eko Vehicles, for a possible merger or acquisition. The Bangalore based Eko Vehicles is a manufacturer of two-wheeled electric vehicles and its agreement with the US based firm will see the two firms explore potential acquisition or merger plans.

The plan will see NEAH Power gain access to the Indian markets from which it is hopeful of increased demand for its fuel cells for a wide range of purposes, from military and industrial applications in India and Asia at large. The US firm is a manufacturer of fuel cells for the military and portable electronic gadgets. The letter of intent, according to NEAH Power, may as well result in its acquisition of the Bangalore based firm.

However, no details were given over the investment transaction. Even so, NEAH Power reiterated that if the merger or acquisition is successful, the resultant entity will be in a position to offer more prospects for growth and expansion of the firm’s product lines and global business. It is also understood that the two firms are as well carrying out due diligence studies in a bid to establish the viability and structure of the entity to be formed.

Chris D’Couto, president and chief executive officer, NEAH Power, said the firm plans to take the synergistic partnership between the two firms to new levels. He reiterated that, other than the fuel cells for electric wheelers, NEAH Power is hopeful of an increase in demand for its fuel cells in India with a presence.

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China to Invest Billions in Electric and Hybrid Cars

The Chinese government, determined to become a world leader in green technology, says it plans to invest billions of dollars over the next few years to develop electric and hybrid vehicles.

The government said a group of 16 big state-owned companies had already agreed to form an alliance to do research and development, and create standards for electric and hybrid vehicles.
The plan aims to put more than a million electric and hybrid vehicles on the road over the next few years in what is already the world’s biggest and fastest growing auto market.
The announcement, analysts say, is another example of how China seeks to marshal resources and tackle industries and new markets. The plan also underlines what China describes as its growing commitment to combating pollution and reducing carbon emissions.
According to some reports by state-run media, Beijing intends to invest nearly $15 billion in the venture, which if true would make it one of the world’s most ambitious attempts to develop more energy-efficient vehicles.
The bold plan was announced late Wednesday by one of China’s most powerful bodies: the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. Sasac, as it is known, operates under China’s cabinet, or State Council. From Beijing, it oversees about 125 of China’s biggest state-owned companies.


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GreenAngel's Rapid Electric Vehicles wins U.S. Army, Honeywell contract to power combat vehicle

Rapid Electric Vehicles (REV), a GreenAngel Energy Corp. investee company, won a contract for its bi-directional charging technology for micro-grids. Through a contract with Honeywell, REV will participate in the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research Development Engineering Center (TARDEC) Micro-Grid project at Wheeler Air Base, Hawaii. 

The project involves the design, building, and demonstration of a Micro-Grid with plug-in electric vehicles. It will help determine the technical readiness of Micro-Grids to accept power from various inputs while charging selected vehicles and provide output power to various applications in both alternating and direct current systems. 




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6 Chinese, American enterprises establish new-energy vehicle alliance

Only 10 days after the establishment of the electric vehicle alliance by China's central state-owned enterprises, the "Sustainable New-Energy International Alliance" was officially established by enterprises including IBM, U.S.-based Eaton's Electrical Group and Foton Motors on Aug. 28. This signifies that competition in the domestic new-energy vehicle sector will start to intensify.

The "Sustainable New-Energy International Alliance" currently has six members consisting of three American and three Chinese enterprises. Of them, IBM will specialize in developing a sustainable transportation network information system, integrating and managing an intelligent power grid and researching the sustainable transportation strategy and business mode.

Aecom will be responsible for the design and development of sustainable transportation infrastructure as well as project management. Eaton's will specialize in the business of the vehicle power system, charging stations connecting with the intelligent power grid, storage battery services and battery management.

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