We Obsessively Cover the Green Scene…

Researchers at Washington State University have made a discovery they're calling "the most condensed form of energy storage outside of nuclear energy." And if they're right, it could one day lead to super-energy-dense batteries. The process uses tools and materials that sound like things Lex Luthor or a Bond villian might have laying around in the basement.

Ever heard of a diamond anvil, for instance? A diamond anvil is apparently a tiny chamber in which incredibly high pressures can be created. So, the WSU researchers put some xenon difluoride inside a diamond anvil and cranked the pressure up to a million atmospheres. What happened next was really cool. The molecules of the xenon difluoride started clustering up under the tremendous pressure.

We're picturing a bunch of dominoes lying on a kitchen table that are suddenly pushed together into a pile. That may not be entirely accurate, but bear with us. Where the potential battery tech comes into play is in that new, bunched-up domino compound. All the mechanical energy from the squishing gets converted into chemical energy stored in the bonds between the jammed-up molecules.

We're not sure how much energy it takes to crush xenon difluoride versus how much energy it holds, and we're not sure how prevalent diamond anvils are, but it's a cool technology at the very least.

[Source: Popular Science]

Last month we told you that Mercedes-Benz plans to add the S350 Bluetec to their 2011 line-up. Now that we've seen some specs we're more excited than ever.

With combined fuel consumption down 11 percent to 35 miles per gallon and (if we did the math right) CO2 emissions around ten ounces per mile, the new S350 BlueTec certainly holds its own with the green luxury competition and with its sister the S400 Hybrid. But it's still a Mercedes through and through and the V6 diesel power plant is churning out 258 horsepower (up 10 percent) and a more-than-adequate 457 lb-ft of torque (up 15%).

With impressive power like that, it really makes you wonder what kind of miles per gallon Mercedes could get out of this engine if it aimed for max efficiency instead of the more balanced approach. Acceleration from 0-60 ticks off in 7.1 seconds – not lightning fast, but probably fast enough. Top speed is electronically limited at 155 miles per hour.

Pricing hasn't been announced, but speculation is that it will cost you around $95,000 to take one home.

[Source: Green Car Congress]

The BP oil spill has reminded us that whether we love ethanol or hate it, it's still loads better than crude oil. Or at least that's what the corn ethanol lobbies would have us believe, according to Slate.

With ethanol plants closing left and right, about 1.4 billion gallons of additional distilling capacity under construction, and with the EPA still not giving the green light to E15, the ethanol-is-better-than-oil-spills message is being pushed hard. Matt Hartwig, communications director for the Renewable Fuels Association, sums up the ethanol lobby's main talking point: "The Gulf of Mexico disaster serves as a stark and unfortunate reminder of the need for domestically-produced renewable biofuels."

An upsurge in oil-spill, ethanol-focused advertising slogans may also be a sign of rising lobbying efforts in the nation's capital by the industry. One example seen in a Washington D.C. Metro station that reads, "No beaches have been closed due to ETHANOL spills. ... America's CLEAN fuel," was paid for by Growth Energy, and ethanol industry lobby group.

In a crisis like the oil spill, politics and panic can rule the day. Let's just hope policy makers remember the false promise of corn ethanol before dumping a few billion dollars into resuscitating it. Any of our readers feel like starting an ABG lobbying group on K Street?

[Souce: Slate | Image: r-z – C.C. 2.0]

BP and the US government haven't been as forthcoming with details about the company's oil spill as some of us would like. Lack of clear information often breeds speculation, and what follows is certainly speculation. That being said, those of us who write for ABG and you, our readers, often deal with absolutes: the most efficient battery design, the fastest charge time, the largest miles-per-gallon number. So we can't help but wonder, what is the absolute worst case scenario for the BP oil spill?

Over at The Oil Drum, one reader's vision of the worst case scenario has stirred up quite a commotion. The commenter, who doesn't clearly identify himself but builds a substantially more convincing case than you'd expect from a random blowhard, speculates that the oil well gushing on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico may, despite our best engineering efforts, only get worse, eventually reaching a point of no-return. The article needs a lot of editing and requires at least a little bit of knowledge about the Gulf situation as a starting point, but the gist is this:

All the actions and few tid bits of information all lead to one inescapable conclusion. The well pipes below the sea floor are broken and leaking. ... What does this mean? It means they will never cap the gusher after the wellhead. They cannot...the more they try and restrict the oil gushing out the [blow out preventer]?...the more it will transfer to the leaks below.

Right or wrong, sage or quack, the commenter proposes some interesting ideas, and some terrifying ones. It's a good read, and it could turn out to be a prophetic one. Check it out, and then we'd love to see your comments on it. Special thanks to ABG reader Chuck D. for sending this in.

[Souce: The Oil Drum | Image: IBRRC – C.C. 2.0]

Mayors from across the country gathered in Oklahoma City this past weekend for the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Their agenda covered everything from federal immigration reform and after-school programs to drug enforcement and Superfund sites. It was a busy weekend.

While immigration reform probably doesn't fall under the jurisdiction of mayors, one subject discussed at the convention was soundly within their job descriptions – the greening of municipal fleets. On Monday, the group unanimously passed a resolution urging the federal government to encourage greater use of natural gas in vehicles. This isn't the first time the mayors have spoken out for or against a specific fuel. Back in 2008 we told you about about their oil sands boycott. National Gas Alliance CEO Regina Hopper was understandably pleased with the resolution:

We applaud the U.S. Conference of Mayors for uniting behind the important concept that natural gas helps clean the air and is an abundant American resource that can shift our reliance to domestically produced energy. The mayors' emphasis on natural gas should serve as a model for federal and state policymakers.

The resolution passed by the mayors encourages Congress to create legislation that supports expanded research programs to help put natural gas engines in more vehicles as well as offers tax incentives for buying natural gas vehicles and compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel.

[Source: NewsOK]

Okay, we admit it, we're as smitten by emerging and flashy technology as much as the next green geeks. But sometimes we get so caught up in the vehicles of tomorrow that we forget to look back at the incredibly green vehicles that have come before. One of the best – and most lampooned – was the Geo Metro.

The Metro's mighty 1.0 liter three-banger was capable of putting up 50 miles per gallon or better all day long. But one year ago, a fella named Darin Cosgrove, founder of Ecomodder.com, coaxed his modded-up Metro to almost triple digit mpg at Watkins Glen, New York for the fifth annual Green Grand Prix expo and fuel economy rally.

Darin's list of mods is pretty extensive and they run the gamut from over-inflating his tires to disabling his alternator on the second half of the course to installing an aerodynamic Kammback to help discourage a parachute-like vortex formation at the back of the car. He also installed a shifter-mounted engine kill switch for "pulse-and-glide" engine-off coasting. Not exactly the kind of driving tricks and techniques we expect the average U.S. commuter to employ to save go-juice, but it's inspiring nonetheless.

By the time Darin finished the 79-mile trip around Seneca Lake, he'd managed to squeeze 99.7 mpg (U.S.) from the Metro. Astounding. Darin, we salute you and all the other self-described purveyors of 'fuel efficiency geekery' over at metrompg.com. Nobody is getting more bang for the efficiency buck than you cats. For the rest of you contemplating a new green car purchase, all we've got to say is this: 50 mpg for $1,200 – it's even a convertible.

[Source: Jalopnik]

Capstone Turbine Corporation, manufacturer of microturbine energy systems, has announced they're partnering with CalMotors, maker of traction drive systems, to offer a full line of turbine-powered Hybrid Electric Drive Solutions. The two companies plan to produce systems for small-to-mid-size automobiles (like the CMT-380 hybrid-electric sports car, maybe?) all the way up to Class 8 tractor trailer trucks and even marine applications. Darren Jamison, Capstone President and CEO, says the partnership will give Capstone an entry point into the growing hybrid electric vehicle market. The CalMotors agreement covers a wide range of traction motors, from 70kW models to more than 300kW. This should give the two companies a wide net to cast into the new and retrofit hybrid market says Jim Crouse, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Capstone:

Our new Capstone Drive Solution offering should open a lot of opportunities for electric drive systems where our ultra-low emissions and high efficiency have an advantage over more traditional prime movers.

Jamison added:

There has been strong growth in electric drive systems for vehicles, and national and state governments are supporting technologies that can deliver higher performance at lower cost. Capstone is now in a good position to pursue the incentives and funding for these types of applications.

Hit the jump to read the full press release. Special thanks to Roy B. for sending this in!

[Source: Capstone]

Back in the early days of mass-produced biofuels, corn-based ethanol and soy-based biodiesel were all the rage. But criticism about food vs. fuel and scalability abounded and, by 2008, cellulosic ethanol became known as a so-called second-generation-biofuel and, maybe, the answer to our oil-addicted prayers. Blame Congress, blame the economy, heck, blame T. Boone Pickens if you want to, but the fact of the matter is that in the two years since cellulosic ethanol's big appearance, large-scale production of cellulosic ethanol has yet to reach levels that resemble anything close to significant. Still, first and second-gen biofuels account for 99% of today's global biofuel production.

So, while the Gulf of Mexico starts to resemble the bruised arm of a heroin addict, let's skip ahead to future biofuel technologies that, if they work, really could signal the beginning of the end of oil. Namely, 3rd and 4th generation biofuels.

What are 3rd and 4th generation biofuels? According to a new 150-page report available for the low-low price of $1,495 from GreenTech Media Research, 3rd-generation biofuel is basically advanced algae-based biodiesel while 4th-generation biofuels are created using petroleum-like hydroprocessing or advanced biochemistry. One such technology is the "solar-to-fuel" method (pictured above) developed by Joule Biotechnology which sounds pretty cool. In their model, sunlight, waste CO2 and engineered microorganisms combine in a "solar converter" to create fuel.

The summary of the report goes on to conclude that, by 2022, biofuels will account for almost eight percent of global oil volumes used for transportation. That may not sound like a lot, but it does represent a multi-hundred-billion-dollar market. Bring it on.

[Source: GreenTechMedia]

We'll let the videos do most of the explaining, but the basics go like this. Physarum polycephalum, a type of slime mold, scouts for food sources by growing tendrils. Once it's created a spider web-like network of tendrils, the mold maintains and strengthens whichever tendrils take the most direct or efficient paths to the food and withdraws the rest. So, how does this relate to the greening of America's transportation? Well, researchers in the UK have already used the slime mold to create living maps of local roads and railways. What they found is that, without help from the researchers, the slime molds mimicked a good part of the actual road systems in the country.

So, in the future, maybe, slime molds combined with computer models could help make new transportation networks more efficient, easing congestion without the use of those creepy IBM stoplights that shut your car off for you. Hit the jump to watch a computer-generated simulation of the mold at work.

[Source: Popular Science]

The good people over at Edmunds Inside Line maintain a fleet of test vehicles for their flogging pleasure. And they've just released the latest fuel economy numbers from their real-world tests. Not surprisingly, the 2004 Toyota Prius came in first place overall averaging 41.0 miles per gallon. What is surprising is that, while the Prius was able to squeeze out 59.3 miles-per-gallon on the high end, the same car also returned 26.7 mpg on its worst tank. What on earth do you have to do to a Prius to make it return less than 27 mpg? Were they autocrossing it? Edmunds also managed to get only 18.3 mpg out of a Ford Fusion Hybrid, apparently using it to re-enact of the chase scene from Bullitt.

Other notable stats: their 2002 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 returned a combined 20 mpg, the same as a 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour. WTF, Honda? For a full list of the test cars and how each one did, check this out.

[Source: Edmunds – Image: Larry Page – C.C. 2.0]

First, a disclaimer. We understand that sulfur (or sulphur for you Brits) isn't the only less-than-desirable thing in or about petroleum diesel. There's nitrogen oxide (NOx), particulate matter (soot) and carbon dioxide, to name a few other pollutants. And, of course, petroleum diesel does come from petroleum in the first place. And petroleum, no matter how clean it gets, is why that large body of water off our southern coast is starting to resemble the parking lot of a Jiffy Lube after a rain storm.

Still, one of diesel's nastiest ingredients, and one that, once removed, allows manufacturers to install better "clean diesel" particulate filters, is sulfur – and diesel used to have a lot of sulfur. Off-road diesel (used by farm vehicles, construction equipment and the occasional tax-dodging rancher) used to be limited to 3400 parts-per-million. But then came Low-Sulfur Diesel (LSD) which limited sulfur content to 500 ppm. And then, starting in late 2006, Ultra-Low-Sulfur Diesel (ULSD), which limited sulfur to just 15ppm, became the new standard for on-road diesel. As of this week, 100 percent of diesel fuel refined in the U.S. for on-road use and at least 80 percent of the diesel fuel refined in the U.S. for off-road use has to be ULSD.

Allen Shaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum, said meeting the 80 percent mandate was an environmental milestone:

Today is another milestone for clean diesel and clean air, as our nation's farm tractors and construction machines will now have access to cleaner ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel. Two-thirds of all farm and construction equipment rely on diesel engines due to their unique combination of power, fuel efficiency, economical ownership and operation and legendary reliability and durability.

We still miss biodiesel, but it's nice to know the alternative to the alternative is getting a bit easier to swallow, on-road and off.

[Source: Green Car Congress | Image: jurvetson – C.C. 2.0]

Since late 2009, commercial biodiesel producers and users across the U.S. have been wandering through the diesel desert, shamefully living off petroleum, thirsting for just one more drop of renewable fuel to put in our tanks. That's because last December, Congress allowed the biodiesel tax credit, an incentive that helped make biodiesel cost-competitive with petroleum diesel, to expire.

To continue the desert metaphor, late last week we reached an oasis, of sorts. Friday, the House passed a bill called the "American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act." The bill, like almost any bill that leaves Congress, divvies up money to a lot of different interests. But most relevant to our readers is the reinstatement of the biodiesel tax incentive, retroactive to December 31st, 2009. Can we get an "Amen" in the house? Or, rather, an "Amen" in the Senate?

Manning Feraci, Vice President of Federal Affairs for the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) said the reinstatement of the tax credit was good for American jobs:

Since the tax incentive's inception six years ago, the biodiesel industry has created tens of thousands of green jobs, added $4.1 billion to the nation's GDP and generated $828 million in tax revenue for federal, state and local governments. However, since the incentive has lapsed the industry has shed thousands of jobs, shuttered plants and is struggling to survive. Timely reinstatement of biodiesel tax incentive will undoubtedly reverse this troubling trend and allow the industry to create over 12,000 new jobs in this year alone.

So says NBB. The measure passed by rather slim 215-to-204 margin, but we'll take it.

[Source: National Biodiesel Board | Image: allie caulfield – C.C. 2.0]

The 2011 Ford Fiesta is a tiny-sized fuel sipper with a 40 miles-per-gallon highway estimate from the EPA. We like it. And Ford says 125,000 people are interested in the party. But will the Fiesta sell?

Compared to our Euro and Asian cousins, we Americans have typically tended to favor larger, more powerful cars and trucks. Opinions differ widely on exactly why. You could argue that the sheer size of our country demands larger, more comfortable vehicles. But then why don't Chinese or Russian people subscribe to the same logic? You could argue big cars are a reflection of our national self image – strong, powerful and in command of our surroundings.

But perhaps it's much simpler than that. Historically, small cars in the U.S. have been cursed by small, anemic engines paired with bottom-of-the-parts-bin suspension components and low-grade interiors. Think Chevette. Think Escort. Think Omni. Think Metro. Think Cavalier. The list is long.

There have been notable exceptions through the years. The offerings from venerable hot-hatch pathfinder Volkswagen come to mind. Honda, Toyota and Nissan have offered fun-in-four-cylinders since the '80s and before. Saab was turbocharging every small car in sight before turbocharging was cool. And more recently, Subaru showed us that compact combined with AWD could be absolutely, undeniably, blow-your-mind awesome when turned over to a maestro like Ken Block.

Speaking of Kenny from the Block, the WRC superman, YouTube sensation and baggy fashion impresario is at it again. A while back, he ditched the Subie in favor of a (albeit nowhere near stock) Ford Fiesta, and now he's looking for help from you, err, us, to show it off properly. The DC Shoes Team is prepping for Block's next Gymkhana video, "Gymkhana 3," and they're open to suggestions. Wanna see Ken Block jump a school bus full of frightened orphans? Wanna see him turn doughnuts inside the rim of an active volcano? Hey, maybe he should dodge live mortar rounds while shaving with a straight razor. It's up to you. And the winner gets to go for a ride with Mr. Block. So quit reading about cars and start brainstorming. We want to say that we know the person who wins.

The great irony is, by inspiring an entire generation of hooligans to go find a dirt road and death wish behind the wheel of a Ford Fiesta, and thus maybe selling a mega-ton-crap load of 40mpg Fiestas, men like Ken Block could do more for the image of fuel efficiency in this country than men like Elon Musk and his overpriced, battery-powered go-karts ever could. (Disclaimer: We love the Tesla Roadster. Really.) After the jump has never been so appropriate.

[Source: Edmunds]