BMW i3 electric motor, Hyundai Tucson fuel cell selected for Ward’s 10 Best Engines 2015

11 December 2014

Among the winning powerplants for the 2015 edition of Ward’s 10 Best Engines are the 127 kW electric motor in the BMW i3 EV and the 100-kW fuel cell in Hyundai’s Tucson FCV.

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The other winners are:

• 6.2L OHV V-8 (Chevrolet Corvette Stingray)

• 6.2L Supercharged OHV V-8 (Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat)

• 1.0L Turbocharged DOHC 3-cyl. (Ford Fiesta)

• 1.5L Turbocharged DOHC 3-cyl. (Mini Cooper)

• 3.0L Turbodiesel DOHC V-6 (Ram 1500 EcoDiesel)

• 2.0L Turbocharged DOHC H-4 (Subaru WRX)

• 1.8L Turbocharged DOHC 4-cyl. (Volkswagen Golf)

• 2.0L Turbocharged DOHC 4-cyl. (Volvo S60)

Four of these—the Chevrolet V-8, Ford 3-cyl., Ram diesel and VW 4-cylinder—also won last year.

WardsAuto editors evaluated 37 all-new or improved powertrains before settling on the winners.

DOE issues $12.5B Advanced Nuclear Energy Projects loan guarantee solicitation

11 December 2014

The US Department of Energy (DOE) issued the Advanced Nuclear Energy Projects loan guarantee solicitation, which provides as much as $12.5 billion to support innovative nuclear energy projects. With the issuance of this solicitation, DOE’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) now has open solicitations in four areas, also including the $8-billion Advanced Fossil Energy Projects Solicitation, the $4-billion Renewable Energy and Efficient Energy Projects Solicitation, and the $16-billion Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program.

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Authorized by Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Advanced Nuclear Energy Projects Solicitation would provide loan guarantees to support the construction of innovative nuclear energy and front-end nuclear projects in the US that reduce, avoid, or sequester greenhouse gas emissions.

While any project that meets the eligibility requirements may apply, the Department has identified four key technology areas of interest in the solicitation:

1. Technology Area 1: Advanced Nuclear Reactors. This area focuses on nuclear energy projects with evolutionary, state-of-the-art design improvements in the areas of fuel technology, thermal efficiency, modularized construction, safety systems, and standardized design.

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   Technology Area 2: Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). This area focuses on nuclear energy projects with evolutionary, state-of-the-art design improvements in the areas of fuel technology, thermal efficiency, modularized construction, safety systems, and standardized design and are nominally 300 MWe or smaller in size.

3. Technology Area 3: Uprates and Upgrades at Existing Facilities. This area focuses on projects consisting of improvements and/or modifications to an existing reactor that is (1) operating but that due to such improvements and/or modifications will operate more efficiently and/or will increase capacity; (2) is not operating and cannot operate without such improvements and/or modifications or; (3) is operating but would be required to cease operating unless such improvements and/or modifications are made.

4. Technology Area 4: Front-End Nuclear. This area focuses on advanced nuclear facilities for the “front- end” of the nuclear fuel cycle. Of the $12.5 billion available under this solicitation, $2 billion is available exclusively for “front-end” projects. This could include:

   • Uranium Conversion Projects that economically convert U3O8 powder into a gaseous form of uranium hexafluoride;
   • Uranium Enrichment Projects or facilities that transform natural uranium or uranium tails to a higher isotopic content of U235 including by (1) gas centrifuge or (2) laser isotope separation and;
   • Nuclear Fuel Fabrication Projects that fabricate nuclear fuel including (1) production of UO2 powder that is “reconverted” from enriched UF6 gas from enrichment plants; (2) formation of UO2 pellets from UO2 powder through compaction and sintering; and (3) fuel assembly (i.e. insertion of pellets into zircaloy tubes and formation of a fuel assembly using fasteners.)

Applications will undergo a two-part review. Part I will determine the initial eligibility of a project and whether it is ready to proceed. Applications that clear Part I are invited to Part II, which initiates the next stage of due diligence and underwriting.

The first deadline for Part I applications is 18 March 2015, followed by rolling deadlines approximately every six months.

To date, LPO has supported a diverse portfolio of loans, loan guarantees, and commitments, supporting more than 30 projects nationwide. The projects that LPO has supported include the first nuclear power plant to begin construction in the US in the last three decades, one of the world’s largest wind farms, several of the world’s largest solar generation and thermal energy storage systems, and more than a dozen new or retooled auto manufacturing plants across the country.

California makes first investments in $100M energy research development program; also biogas and H2

11 December 2014

The California Energy Commission approved its first $10 million to fund Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) research and development (RD) projects during its monthly business meeting today. The Commission also approved grants for the operation of a hydrogen fueling station, biofuel production, geothermal exploration and rooftop solar for schools.

EPIC is a multi-year, research investment program focused on electricity-related innovations, finding new energy solutions and bringing clean energy ideas to the marketplace. The program’s 2012-2014 plan calls for investing $330 million between 2014 and 2015 in innovative technologies that provide benefits to electric ratepayers served by Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas Electric Co. The seven awards approved will fund applied RD projects that will develop utility-scale renewable energy generation technologies.

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Two of the awardees, Halotechnics and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), also received funds from the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E). The state and federal awards are complementary and aim to push emerging technologies to the marketplace.

• Halotechnics and UCLA: $1.5 million each to advance thermal energy storage technologies that will help cut costs and improve the efficiency of thermal energy storage, leading to increased capacity and operational benefits for concentrated solar power plants.

• Itron, Inc.: $1 million to use high-fidelity solar forecasting to predict load impacts on California’s electricity grid and reduce solar integration costs.

• Geysers Power Company: $3 million to investigate if geothermal plants could vary output to balance other intermittent renewable resources to increase the amounted of wind and solar used by the grid.

• University of California, San Diego (UCSD): $1 million to use advanced solar forecasting to optimize campus distributed energy resources on the UCSD campus. Also, $1 million to address solar energy forecasting for large-scale concentrating solar power and photovoltaic plants.

• University of California, Davis: $1 million to improve the accuracy of short-term forecasting of wind power production in the Tehachapi Wind Resources Area.

In the next year, the EPIC program will invest an additional $180 million in grants to fund projects designed to achieve California’s clean energy goals and provide customers with additional energy choices.

Alternative Fuel and Vehicles. The Energy Commission approved two grants and contracts through the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (ARFVTP), which supports the development and use of alternative and renewable fuel projects and advanced transportation technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on petroleum-based fuels.

• Colony Energy Partners Tulare, LLC: $5 million to construct a digester for processing waste that will produce 2.8 million diesel gallon equivalents of biogas each year, displacing an equal amount of diesel fuel used by trucks in the San Joaquin Valley. This job-creating project is nearly three times larger than any other biogas project funded by the Energy Commission.

• Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: $300,000 for its first of 10 hydrogen fueling stations being funded by the Commission. The award covers operations and maintenance costs for fueling station equipment in Diamond Bar, and the costs of gathering data about the equipment.

Oil price tumbles after OPEC releases 2015 forecast

11 December 2014

by Andy Tully of Oilprice.com

The demand for oil in 2015 will drop to its lowest level since 2002 because of an oversupply of crude and stagnant economies in China and Europe, according to OPEC’s latest forecast. And that’s just one of several sour estimates. OPEC’s monthly report said demand for the cartel’s oil will fall to 28.9 million barrels per day next year, 280,000 barrels lower than its previous forecast and the lowest in 12 years. Add to that a new report from the US government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA), which also cut its 2015 forecast for growth in global oil demand by 240,000 barrels per day, down to 880,000 barrels per day.

For 2014, the EIA expects demand will be about 960,000 barrels per day. And yet on Nov. 27, OPEC refused to lower its production levels below 30 million barrels a day, adding to the oil glut that started with the US boom in high-quality shale oil. As a result, the price of Brent crude has plunged more than 40 percent since June. Futures for US crude also are down dramatically.

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“There is a growing realization that the first half of next year is going to look very weak,” Gareth Lewis-Davies, a strategist at the Paris-based bank BNP Paribas, told Reuters. “You start to price that in now.”

On Dec. 9, meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported that inventories of US crude rose during the week ending Dec. 6 by 4.4 million barrels to 377.4 million barrels. The increase was twice as large as had been expected. US backlogs of gasoline and distillates also were up, according to the API.

“Almost all the news flow points to a weaker market,” said one oil analyst, Carsten Fritsch of Commerzbank in Frankfurt. “We have had very bearish API data with large stock builds across the board, and also a very bearish Short-Term Energy Outlook from the EIA, with a sharp reduction in demand growth forecasts for next year.”

Abhishek Deshpande, an oil market analyst at Natixis, agreed. “The fundamentals outlined in the report look quite bearish,” he said. “Fiscal balances are a huge problem for weaker OPEC members, so I won’t be surprised if they call for an emergency meeting [to adjust production levels] early next year.”

In fact this year’s price plunge hasn’t hurt just the weaker OPEC members. Bloomberg reports that oil prices now are too low for 10 of its 12 members to balance their governments’ budgets. The exceptions, the news agency reports, are Kuwait and Qatar. Saudi Arabia may be losing money on oil at the moment, the news agency says, but its treasury has nearly three-quarters of a trillion dollars in reserve.

What’s missing in this flurry of news, as of midday Dec. 10, is what OPEC plans to do about the balancing the oil glut with the expected stretch of lower demand. And the cartel’s next meeting to discuss production levels isn’t scheduled until June 5, 2015.

Source: http://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Oil-Price-Tumbles-After-OPEC-Releases-2015-Forecast.html

Boeing, South African Airways look to 1st harvest of Solaris tobacco for renewable jet fuel

11 December 2014

Boeing and South African Airways (SAA) announced that South African farmers will soon harvest their first crop of energy-rich tobacco plants, an important step towards using the plants to make sustainable aviation biofuel. Boeing and SAA, along with partners SkyNRG and Sunchem SA, also officially launched Project Solaris, their collaborative effort to develop an aviation biofuel supply chain with a nicotine-free tobacco plant called Solaris. (Earlier post.)

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In Limpopo province, company representatives and industry stakeholders visited commercial and community farms where 123 acres (50 hectares) of Solaris have been planted. Oil from the plant’s seeds may be converted into bio-jet fuel as early as next year, with a test flight by SAA as soon as practicable.

The farm visits followed the announcement in August that Boeing, SAA and SkyNRG were collaborating to make aviation biofuel from the Solaris plant, which was developed and patented by Sunchem Holding. If the test farming in Limpopo is successful, the project will be expanded in South Africa and potentially to other countries. In coming years, emerging technologies are expected to increase aviation biofuel production from the plant’s leaves and stems.

Sustainable aviation biofuel made from Solaris plants can reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by 50 to 75%, ensuring it meets the sustainability threshold set by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB). Airlines have conducted more than 1,600 passenger flights using aviation biofuel since the fuel was approved for commercial use in 2011.

In addition to its collaboration in Southern Africa, Boeing has active biofuel development projects in the United States, Middle East, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, Brazil and Australia.

Consultancy looks to aggressive weight reduction in major powertrain components for CO2 savings; metal and polymer matrix composites

11 December 2014

UK automotive engineering consultancy Drive System Design (DSD) suggests the next breakthrough in CO₂ emissions reduction will come from more aggressive weight reduction in major powertrain components. Analysis by the company has identified both near-term and medium-term solutions for the manufacture of items such as transmission casings using advanced composite materials, but favors modern hybrid materials such as metal and polymer matrix composites (MMCs and PMCs) over conventional carbon composite solutions.

Continual pressure on the automotive industry to reduce carbon emissions is leading to weight reduction initiatives throughout the vehicle. Currently, several of the heaviest individual components in the powertrain, such as the main casings for the transmission, are still metal (e.g., aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys and iron) castings despite the widespread use of lighter materials elsewhere on the vehicle.

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Experience gained from composite applications for vehicle bodies on the one hand, and small powertrain components on the other, has not led to the kind of production-feasible light weight composites that can replace heavy, structural castings. Our contribution has been to identify the preferred material options for these challenging applications, such as metal or polymer matrices, based on manufacturing costs and the required component properties.

DSD suggests the next breakthrough in CO₂ emissions reduction will come from more aggressive weight reduction in major powertrain components. Click to enlarge.

DSD has identified that, in the short term, the solution requiring least disruption to existing automotive supply chains would be based on metal matrix composites (MMCs) which use filaments, whiskers or particles of high strength materials to enhance the properties of the base matrix. Such materials are already in commercial production and DSD believes that selective reinforcement of a conventional casting by the use of MMC inserts will enable the use of lighter thin-wall designs with additional strength provided only where necessary. The inserts fuse to the molten aluminium during the casting process, creating a fully integrated component.

In the automotive industry, MMCs have been used commercially in fibre reinforced pistons and aluminium crank cases with strengthened cylinder surfaces as well as particle-strengthened brake disks. These innovative materials open up unlimited possibilities for modern material science and development. The characteristics of MMCs can be designed into the material, custom-made, dependent on the application. This material group becomes interesting for use as constructional and functional materials, if the property profile of conventional materials either does not reach the increased standards of specific demands, or is the solution of the problem.

A more ambitious solution is possible in the medium-term, using polymer matrix composites (PMCs). Light weight polymers are already popular for non-structural covers, often incorporating metal inserts where fasteners generate local clamping forces.

To handle the high structural loads found in transmission and axle casings, DSD proposes the inclusion of larger metal inserts into the mould, forming a metallic skeleton to achieve the required strength in specific areas. By injecting the polymer around the metallic inserts, a hybrid structure is created that could be significantly lighter than a traditional design, without incurring additional costs.

If a manufacturer is seeking a component weight reduction whilst minimizing the effect on the supply chain, then it would appear that the adoption of MMCs in some form is the best solution. By redesigning components to accommodate the preformed composite inserts where stresses are high, casing wall thicknesses can be reduced in those areas where stresses are low and the number of casing ribs required can also be minimised. This could result in an estimated overall component weight reduction in the order of 10-15%.
Alternatively, if the manufacturer is looking for maximum reduction in component weight, then the use of a polymer based material is considered to give the biggest gains. To assess which method is most appropriate, a component specific feasibility study would be required.

Both the solutions outlined by DSD avoid the labor intensive manufacturing processes associated with carbon composites, according to Findlay.

Though the time for resin application can be shortened through increasing injection pressure, we believe the time required for accurate lay-up of the laminated layers will confine carbon composite materials to niche vehicles in the medium-term. It would require the development of new automation techniques to achieve cost-effective cycle times.

DSD presented a paper on ultra-lightweight transmission casings during the FISITA World Automotive Congress at Maastricht in June. That paper, entitled “Composite Transmission Casing for Volume Production” showed the potential of different composite materials to achieve significant weight savings in volume transmission applications.

DSD presented two technical papers at the 13^th annual CTI Symposium in Berlin this week. The first, entitled “Lubrication Efficiency”, describes how a new approach to transmission design can provide dramatic efficiency improvements. The second, entitled “Design Methods for Hybrid Disconnect Clutches” explores the unique challenges faced by clutches in parallel hybrid applications and how these may be overcome.

Resources

• Ian Westall (2014) “Composite Transmission Casing For Volume Production” (FISITA 2014, F2014-TMH-057)

Toray to acquire European carbon fiber fabric and pre-preg business

11 December 2014

Toray Industries, Inc. has reached a basic agreement with Saati S.p.A to acquire its European carbon fiber fabric and prepreg business. Toray will take over the assets of Saati’s plant in Legnano in January 2015, which would start operation as Composite Materials (Italy) S.r.l., (CIT), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toray. Saati’s American composite business will still belong to the Saati Group.

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In Europe, Toray currently is engaged in carbon fiber business starting from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor at its French subsidiary, Toray Carbon Fibers Europe S.A. (CFE), and CFRP parts business that uses carbon fiber fabric at its German subsidiaries of Euro Advanced Carbon Fiber Composites GmbH (EACC) and ACE Advanced Composite Engineering GmbH (ACE).

Through this planned acquisition of intermediate material business base, Toray is establishing its own integrated supply chain, and will further strengthen the structure of Toray Group’s carbon fiber composite materials business in Europe.

Saati’s carbon fiber fabric and prepreg business has been expanding rapidly in recent years as a customer of Toray Group’s carbon fiber-related companies, especially of CFE, under the strong cooperation between the two companies.

Going forward, Toray Group will transfer its technology to CIT while aiming to expand the business beyond Europe by leveraging its global sales channel. Toray positions its Carbon Fiber Composite Materials Business as one of the Strategically Expanding Businesses and plans to drive forward exponential expansion of the business by proactive investment of management resources including MA under the medium-term management program “Project AP-G 2016” launched in April 2014. The acquisition of CIT is part of this strategy, and Toray aims to expand and advance its Carbon Fiber Composite Materials Business through enhancing its supply chain.

CLEVER to add 100 ABB fast charging stations in Denmark and neighboring countries

11 December 2014

Danish electric mobility operator CLEVER will expand its charging network in Denmark and neighboring countries with 100 ABB multi-standard Terra 53 DC fast charging stations.
The chargers will be installed in Denmark and in neighboring countries through partners, including a first collaboration with Öresundskraft in Sweden.

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The network will continue expanding into other countries with support of the European TEN-T funding program, an EU transportation infrastructure policy implemented in January 2014 to ensure reliable, sustainable passenger and freight transportation within the EU member states.

The expansion of CLEVER’s network follows its 2012 ABB collaboration to roll out a country-wide network of fast chargers in Denmark. In 2013, CLEVER added an additional 50 ABB DC fast chargers, bringing its total network to 100 locations, including both AC and DC chargers that support all modern electric vehicles (EV) on the Danish market.

Over the last year ABB and CLEVER worked closely together to create an optimal fast charging experience in Denmark with convenient payment systems and the highest uptime and reliability in the industry. ABB’s Terra 53 offers connectivity that allows the charging stations to be remotely monitored; an ABB Charger Care service program then provides rapid response to any service or maintenance needs.

ABB’s connected platform provides a reliable back-bone for CLEVER’s payment solutions and administrative systems, and allows the charging stations to seamlessly connect to smart electricity distribution systems or grids.

Volvo Cars well along with 3-cylinder gasoline engine development program; prototype testing underway

11 December 2014

Volvo Car’s 3-cylinder gasoline engine. Click to enlarge.

Volvo Cars confirmed its production program to develop a lightweight 3-cylinder Drive-E gasoline engine. The engine, wholly developed in Sweden, will join the company’s 4-cylinder Drive-E engines (earlier post). “The development program for the new 3-cylinder engine is very advanced and we have already begun prototype testing of the unit,” said Dr. Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President Research Development at Volvo Car Group.

Volvo has a long history of developing its own unique 6-, 5- and 4-cylinder engines and in-house expertise. (Volvo has been developing its own powertrain solutions since the company was founded in 1927.) The move to include a 3-cylinder in Volvo’s engine program is a natural next step in its downsizing strategy, the company said.

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Volvo Cars’ new three-cylinder engine. Click to enlarge.

We have learned a lot from the development of our 4-cylinder Drive-E engines and translated this into a highly responsive, compact and powerful premium-quality 3-cylinder engine. The engine is being developed primarily with our new CMA architecture in mind but will also provide power for our 60 Series cars thanks to Volvo’s advanced turbo technologies, while also meeting Euro 7 emission targets.

The new Drive-E 3-cylinder engine is designed to support several different applications, in-line with the demand for a real-world blend of performance and efficiency.

The beauty of the new 3-cylinder engine we are developing is that it can be built on the same production lines as our 4-cylinder engine, offering flexible production potential which can be adapted to suit business needs as we grow. This marks an important step forward for Volvo Cars. In terms of our power and efficiency, Volvo’s engineering excellence will shine through with the Drive-E 3-cylinder engine.

The 4-cylinder Drive-E Powertrains launched in 2013; the 4-cylinder Drive-E engines are used as the base of the new Volvo Twin Engine plug-in hybrid electric powertrain.