UQM Technologies Announces Hybrid Electric Shuttle Bus Powered by a UQM(R) Propulsion System and...
Unique Mobility Inc (UQM) is testing a hybrid electric StarTrans Senator Series shuttle bus converted by Transportation Techniques, LLC ("TransTeq") and powered by a UQM® permanent magnet propulsion system and generator. The UQM® propulsion system has been integrated into the driveline on a Ford E450 chassis manufactured by the Tier one automotive supplier to enhance the vehicle's power delivery, performance and fuel efficiency.
Debunking The PHEV Mythology
John Petersen This week has been fascinating because of three articles that found their way to my computer. The first was a thematic piece in McKinsey Quarterly titled "Profiting from the low-carbon economy" that included a carbon abatement cost graph which showed full hybrid automobiles (HEVs) offered CO2 abatement savings of roughly $50 per ton while plug-in hybrid automobiles (PHEVs) imposed CO2 abatement costs of roughly $20 per ton, or slightly more than a nuclear power plant. The second was GM's widely publicized announcement that the Volt would get 230 miles per gallon. The third was...
Toyota Considering Making Diesel-Electric Hybrid Vehicles
Toyota Motor Corp (TM) are developing a hybrid drivetrain system that can be used for gasoline, diesel, natural gas and fuel-cells.
Michigan Buys 10 Hybrid-Electric Vehicles For State Use
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.
Hybrid Technologies Begins Construction of the Hybrid Living Home
Li-ion Motors. (HYBT) and its subsidiaries - R-Electric Car Co., Global Hybrid Corp., Solium Power Corp., and WhistlerTel - emerging leaders in the development and marketing of Lithium-powered and VoIP products worldwide is pleased to announce that construction has begun on the Hybrid Living Home, an engineering and eco-space showcase developed by Hybrid Technologies.
Lux Research Confirms that Cheap Will Beat Cool in Vehicle Electrification
John Petersen On March 30th, Lux Research released an update on the vehicle electrification market titled "Small Batteries, Big Sales: The Unlikely Winners in the Electric Vehicle Market" that predicts: E-bikes and micro-hybrids carry minimal storage, but compensate with high volume. E-bikes show strong unit sales, as they sustain a 157 GWh storage market totaling $24.3 billion in revenues in 2016. Micro-hybrids benefit from increasingly stringent emissions limits, supporting 41 GWh and $3.1 billion in storage sales. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) like Toyota's Prius grow steadily while PHEVs and EVs are at the mercy of external factors....
The Best Peak Oil Investments: Six More Electric Vehicle and Hybrid Electric Stocks
Tom Konrad CFA My Ten Electric Vehicle (EV) Stocks article drew considerable attention and comments, including suggestions for stocks that did not make the ten. Here are my takes on the EV stocks suggested by readers. All of these companies do have something to do with electric vehicles (EVs) or hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), but many were omitted from the original list because EV and HEV exposure was quite small as a fraction of total revenue. This matters because, even when a small segment of a company is growing rapidly, it can have very little effect on...
The Time is Right for Gas-guzzler to Dual-mode EV Conversions
Since early 2008, Axion Power International (AXPW.OB) has been quietly developing an experience base and building grass roots support for a gas-guzzler to dual-mode EV conversion initiative that has the short-term potential to transform up to 120 million gas-guzzling pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans into gas sipping EV-50s. If recent articles from sources as diverse as The Daily Green, Edmunds Green Car Advisor and the Environmental Defense Fund are reliable indicators, the initiative is rapidly gaining ground. The concept is simple – add electric power trains and battery packs to America's least fuel-efficient vehicles and give...
Shipping Panic Creates Preferred Arbitrage Opportunity
Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA Seaspan Worldwide has several classes of publicly traded securities, with different claims on its income streams. The company owns container ships leased under long term contracts to shipping companies. The shipping industry is in a massive downturn, raising concerns about its customers' ability to pay. The company's preferred shares have sold off more than half as far as its common stock- far more than justified by its relatively low risk. There exists a 5.5% yield opportunity to buy the preferred and hedge the risk by buying puts on the...
EPA Approves 60-MPG SMART Car, Clears Way for U.S. Sales by ZAP
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.
The Best Peak Oil Investments: Ten Electric and Hybrid Car Stocks
Tom Konrad CFA Tesla Motors (TSLA) is not the only electric vehicle (EV) stock. Here are nine other public companies helping to replace petroleum with electricity in our cars and trucks. Early in this series on the Best Peak Oil Investments, I put together an in-depth comparison of alternative fuels. I concluded that the best prospect for displacing oil in the long term is electricity supplemented by biofuels. Vehicle Electrification is likely to come to dominate the transportation sector because only renewable electricity can supply energy on the scale that we currently use for transportation with limited...
Hybrid Locomotives, Vehicle Electrification at Relevant Scale
John Petersen Last month Ricardo PLC (RCDOF.PK) published a report titled "GB Rail Diesel Powertrain Efficiency Improvements" that it prepared for Great Britain's Department for Transport. While most of the fuel efficiency technologies Ricardo evaluated for the report were mechanical systems, its analysis of the fuel efficiency benefits of stop-start and hybrid systems for locomotives offered an intriguing view of a cost-effective vehicle electrification opportunity that can be implemented at relevant scale within a few years. The two types of locomotive systems Ricardo evaluated for the report were simple stop-start idle elimination and full hybridization. The following table...
The Best Peak Oil Investments Meet the Strong Grid: CVTech Group
Tom Konrad CFA CVTech Group (CVT.TO, CVTPF.PK) operates in two of my favorite clean energy sectors: electricity transmission and distribution and efficient vehicles. Here is a look at the company's fundamentals. In "The Strongest Strong Grid Stocks" of my 2010: The Year of the Strong Grid? series, I took a quick look at CVTech Group's financial ratios, and decided not to look deeper because they had considerably more debt in comparison to income than the other electricity transmission ("strong grid") stocks I covered in that article. I came across CVTech again while looking at companies involved in...
Car Insurers Can Help Community Solar Find EV Customers
By Joe McCabe, P.E.
The insurance industry has lots of exposure to climate change. But as Warren Buffet has explained, not so much for companies that do annual policy adjustments, like Berkshire Hathaway. Their exposure is limited because the trends are baked into the premiums. But there is an opportunity for reducing insurance risk due to climate change, and it comes from the insurance industry itself. The business model is to have car insurance salespeople provide leads to virtual electric car charging services. This has perfect demographics because electric vehicle owners are very receptive to solar electricity. Who wouldn't want...
Shareholders Cry Foul as UQM Agrees to Buyout
UQM Technologies (UQM: NYSE) has agreed to be acquired by Danfoss Power Solutions for $1.71 per share in cash, providing a deal value near $100 million. UQM leadership expects timely review by government authorities and has recommended approval of the deal by shareholders. A date has not been set for the required shareholder vote. Assuming all goes according to schedule, a deal closing is possible sometime in the second quarter 2019.
Electric propulsion and generation technologies are at the core of UQM’s solutions for manufacturing, transportation and power industries. The substitution of electric motors for combustion engines has been driving demand for the UQM’s products. Market opportunities have abounded...
