Clean Transportation

Hybrid Technologies Inc. (HYBT) is proud to announce that the historic CHP memorial chopper powered by the Hybrid Technologies Lithium system will be presented to media and the public in a ceremonial CHP ride across California. The initial press conference will be held in Los Angeles, California and is part of a CHP and CAHP weeklong event surrounding graduation and memorial services for the legendary California Highway Patrol.

Energy Conversion Devices Inc (ENER) founded by the now-82-year-old Mr. Ovshinsky in 1960, developed the battery technology that is being used in Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius the popular "hybrid" car model that has given U.S. automobile titans Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. a run for their money. And the Rochester Hills, Mich., company though it still is unprofitable, making iit a risky bet is drawing backing from serious investors who see a hot market for its products. This story hit the news wires and the Wall Street Journal late last night. ENER...

ZAP (ZAPZ) annouces that after five years on the market in Europe, the 60-MPG SMART car was granted a certificate of conformity by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, clearing the way for U.S. sales.

John Petersen As a result of sweeping regulatory changes, the second decade of the new millennium is shaping up as a time of unprecedented progress in automotive fuel efficiency. In the EU, where small cars have been prevalent for decades, gasoline prices of $5 to $8 per gallon are the norm and consumers prize diesel engines, new regulations will require automakers to reduce tailpipe CO2 emissions to an average of 130 grams per kilometer (g/km) as follows: For 65% of the fleet, by 2012; For 75% of the fleet, by 2013; For 85% of the fleet, by...

Tom Konrad, CFA Portec Rail Products (PRPX) agreed to be acquired by L. B. Foster Company (FSTR) on February 17. At least four law firms have started class action suits against the Portec board.  Here is why not to join any of them. Portec Rail Products has been a longtime favorite of mine.  It's profitable, and delivers valuable services to the rail and rail transit industries.  This article goes into a lot more detail as to why I like Portec.  In large part because of the acquisition, Portec is the best performing of my Ten Clean Energy...

Tens of thousands of taxpayers have purchased hybrid electric vehicles this year, and the thousands more who plan to buy these gas-saving, environmentally-friendly vehicles in coming year will receive a bigger tax incentive than expected for their socially-responsible purchases, thanks to yesterday's action by the U.S. Congress on the middle class tax cut bill.

SatCon Technology Corporation (SATC) announced that it has been awarded a contract with the U. S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) to assist in the development of power conversion electronics and controls in two key technology areas. These are power control and conversion systems for hybrid electric vehicles and pulse energy applications such as active armor. The contract has a current value of $2.8 million through 2007.

Honda Motor Co (HMC) expects the introduction of its new gas-electric version of the Accord to boost its U.S. sales of hybrid vehicles to more than 45,000 next year. Honda officials said Thursday they expect to sell 20,000 hybrid versions of the Accord sedan, in addition to the Honda Insight and Civic hybrid compacts.

The state will add ten Ford Escape hybrids to its fleet as part of a plan to cut fuel costs and make the state's vehicles more environmentally sound, officials said at a press conference Tuesday. The hybrid S.U.V.'s run on gas-electric engines and get 33 miles per gallon, and burn 50 cleaner than internal combustion engines.

Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide Inc (QTWW) will provide the engineering effort to accommodate the model year changes for the fuel system. Quantum will also produce the alternative fuel systems and provide the specialty vehicle assembly of the fuel systems into the new trucks. In addition to integrating roughly 250 components into the vehicle, Quantum was also responsible for the powertrain and systems engineering to ensure that the system is optimized for performance, durability, safety and emission compliance over the life of the vehicle. Quantum's engineering effort extends to the vehicles being validated through a wide range of operating...

ZAP (ZAPZ) announced that it has taken an equity position in Zibo Enterprises Co. Ltd., a manufacturer of advanced battery technology in The People's Republic of China. Steve Schneider, Chief Executive Officer for ZAP, says that the announcement is the next step in the Company's business plans to establish a ZAP Energy Division. Schneider says the synergy between advanced automotive and energy technology has prompted ZAP to expand and departmentalize to focus on these respective markets.

Arotech Corporation (ARTX) announced today that its Electric Fuel subsidiary is one of the founders of the recently formed Zinc Energy Storage Technology (ZEST) Consortium. Launched in March 2005, the Consortium's declared aim is to enable the market for zinc-energy storage technology to realize its full potential. The Consortium will initially focus on the electric vehicle market in Asia. In preparation for the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008, which China in its successful bid to the International Olympic Committee declared would be a "Green Olympics," China has committed to employing 1,000 environmentally clean buses for transportation of...

Two related pieces of news yesterday, one that was the day's headline and the other that drew a little less attention. First, the big news: auto makers, especially US-based ones, got hammered by their product mixes. As expected, Americans are responding to a rise in gasoline prices by turning away from trucks and demanding cars, especially small ones. Of course, this spells nothing but hard times for the likes of Ford, GM and Chrysler, who are still hungover from a decade-long party fueled by high-margin pick-up trucks and SUVs. Economic incentives, whether state-imposed or market-driven, work after all....

Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) will start building its Prius hybrid sedans in China next year with FAW Group in a step it hopes will promote the vehicles as the global standard for fuel-efficient cars. The move could also help China as it looks for alternative energy sources and tries to keep pollution in check while demand for cars continues to surge.

ZAP (ZAPZ) announced today that its newest model received a casting-call while ABC's Emmy-nominated show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" was in the neighborhood. The episode in which Extreme Makeover requested the ZAPPY3 is scheduled to air on Sunday, October 10th at 8 p.m. Pacific Time on ABC. The cast and crew heard about ZAP's new 3-wheeled electric scooter while filming an episode near Santa Rosa where ZAP is Headquartered and requested a couple of scooters for the shoot. ZAP says that the production crew along with host Ty Pennington found the silent-running scooter useful for their location work....

An interesting short piece in Wired's Autopia discussing Nissan's 2007 Altima Hybrid. This is interesting because it is available now and at a reasonable price, and so the impact on company sales can be measured in the short term. I'm always wary of announcements involving technologies (let alone mass production) that are years away. This harks back to the idea of bridge, or transition, technologies. Companies that are finding ways to make money from existing technologies while still keeping eye on promising future technologies are worth keeping on the radar.