Clean Transportation

David Hannum was right! There's a sucker born every minute and they're all waiting with bated breath for the low-cost plug-in electric vehicles that are coming soon to a dealership near you; if they're not quietly cancelled first. It's the most insidiously appealing idea of our age: replace those nasty gasoline burning engines with cheap batteries that recharge in minutes and save a fortune on fuel while you "See the USA in Your Chevrolet." It's so appealing in fact that it ranks right up there with free lunch. P.T. Barnum would have been proud. ...

John Petersen Last Wednesday Maxwell Technologies (MXWL) announced the launch of a new ultracapacitor product that insures reliable engine starting for commercial trucks and other heavy vehicles. According to the Energy Information Administration, the existing US fleet includes 4.2 million heavy-duty diesel trucks. All of these vehicles are subject to strict anti-idling laws and regulations that strain their battery systems and increase the risk that the engine won't be able to start when it needs to. While a dead battery is a pain for the average consumer, it can cause a world of problems for a commercial truck...

Honda Motor Co (HMC) said it has built scooters powered by fuel cells and gasoline-electric engines, extending the technology for the first time to two-wheeled vehicles. The automaker developed a scooter with a fuel cell-power plant the size of a normal 125 cubic centimeter gasoline engine as well as a so-called hybrid two-wheeler with a 50cc engine, Honda President Takeo Fukui told reporters at the company's research center in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo.

While Korea is on red-alert to rising oil prices, Hyundai Motor Co., the nation's largest carmaker, is stepping up efforts to develop fuel-efficient cars that run on a combination of gasoline and electricity. Company officials said the introduction of hybrid cars should come around 2007 or possibly earlier.

ZAP (ZAPZ) unveiled today ZAP® Portable Energy(TM), a new rechargeable lithium-ion battery and power storage technology for low-voltage electronics like cell phones, handheld computers and more. "The battery technology to power electric cars is here and ZAP Portable Energy is proof that the technology is maturing at a rapid rate," said ZAP CEO Steve Schneider. "This mobile power source is a breakthrough product that can serve the needs of more than 80 percent of the handheld electronics market. This and other battery advances in mobile electronics are creating the economies of scale necessary to commercialize advanced electric car...

DaimlerChrysler AG (DCX) may sell gasoline-electric cars and trucks to U.S. consumers as early as 2006, adding another fuel-efficient option to its main strategy of diesel-powered vehicles. Chrysler, the maker of Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler brand cars and trucks, is studying whether to add gasoline-electric hybrid versions of some of its vehicles, according to Chrysler Group CEO Dieter Zetsche. He didn't say which models. Chrysler already plans to sell 100 diesel-electric Dodge Ram pickup trucks to fleet customers later this year.

Unique Mobility Inc (UQM) announced today that it has received a $599,000 contract from the U.S. Marine Corps to develop a hybrid electric propulsion system to power small unmanned ground combat vehicles with vehicle weights of 500 pounds to one ton. The propulsion system to be developed includes a 10 kW propulsion motor, an in-line planetary gear set and a dual motor controller with an integrated 60-hertz inverter, which will operate when the vehicle is stationary.

Over the past few days (and continuing this week), Tom has been writing about about what he sold recently. Lately, I have been thinking about what I could buy with the cash I have sitting around, seeing as many alt energy stocks look like bargains compared to where they were trading at just a few short months ago. Over the weekend, I looked again into a stock I wrote about in May, Railpower Tech (RLPPF.PK or P.TO). I got a couple of requests for updates on this one so I decided to write about it. Railpower makes hybrid...

John Petersen On December 14th the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences issued a new report sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy titled "Transitions to Alternative Transportation Technologies – Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles." The press release headline announcing the report proclaims, "PLUG-IN HYBRID VEHICLE COSTS LIKELY TO REMAIN HIGH, BENEFITS MODEST FOR DECADES." In other words, grid-enabled vehicles, or GEVs, are nowhere near ready for prime time and investors that buy into the GEV hype can look forward to decades of pain and suffering. Serious investors who want to understand the electric vehicle...

John Petersen The second quarter was a turbulent period for investors in the energy storage and vehicle electrification sectors. Johnson Controls (JCI), C&D Technologies (CHHP.PK) and the enchanted, mystical, gravity defying Tesla Motors (TSLA) were up a little. Everybody else was down as fear, loathing and uncertainty ran rampant and the congenital birth defects of EVs and batteries to power them proved to be insurmountable obstacles for all but St. Elon of Palo Alto, the patron saint of expensive toys. While the second quarter wasn't pleasant for most of the companies I track, I draw some comfort...

ENER1 INC (ENEI) has established and equipped a pilot nanotechnology-based manufacturing facility to fabricate electrodes for high discharge rate, lithium-ion batteries. The company's battery subsidiary, EnerDel, Inc., in which Delphi Corporation holds a 19.5% interest, is in discussions with automotive OEMs regarding evaluation of samples for use in hybrid electric vehicles where the high discharge rate characteristic is viewed as key to performance and cost. EnerDel also plans to explore applications of this technology in other markets.

John Petersen On April 8th the Electrification Coalition, a recently formed industrial lobby comprised of top-level executives from Cisco Systems (CSCO), Aerovironment (AVAV), NRG Energy (NRG), Rockwood Holdings (ROC), Nissan Motors (NSANY.PK), FedEx (FDX), A123 Systems (AONE) and a gaggle of private companies released a slick but wholly unenlightening white paper titled, "Economic Impact of the Electrification Roadmap." I haven't seen so many finely sculpted curves and unspoken assumptions since the tax shelter forecasts of the early-80s. The only clear message is that electric drive will be little more than a footnote in automotive history unless the powers...

Why is Detroit Obsessed with PHEVs?

John Petersen wrote a series of popular articles last week to introduce new investors to the battery sector, following the A123 IPO.  We've had a couple requests from readers who missed one part or another, so here is a quick index to the articles. Part I - Battery industry overview. Parrt II - Comparison of energy storage technologies and companies. Part III - Benchmarking Performance of battery stocks Part IV - Debunking misconceptions about electric vehicles and battery technology.

Stocks may be expensive now, but they won't be forever.  Five Peak Oil plays to buy when they're cheap again: Two busses, two rails, and an ETF. Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA Two weeks ago, I told you why I feel that the market is more likely to head down than up from here (it's been flat since then.)  I've been selling covered calls on my holdings, several of which have been called away.  I plan to sit on the cash until the market has fallen at least 10%, after which I may start selling cash covered puts, but I...

by Clean Energy Intel Following the deal between Westport Innovations (WPRT), provider of natural gas engine technology, and Shell (RDS-A) on a co-marketing agreement for natural gas solutions for the trucking industry in North America, Westport CEO David Demers gave an interview on CNBC's Mad Money. You can read more about the original co-marketing deal here. The bottom line is that this commitment from a major oil company will no doubt spur the use of natural gas in the transportation sector. However, it may well represent simply too much competition for the smaller Clean Energy Fuels (CLNE). Again, see more detail here. Following...