Emerging Technologies

Hertz will be the first rental car company to try out a wireless recharging system for its fleet of electric-drive vehicles. Hertz, whose fleet includes Nissan Leaf battery-electric vehicles and Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-ins, will install the system at its headquarters in Park Ridge, ...

Remember the Mindset E-Motion? When last we had news of this Murat Günak creation, the folks behind it (Spirt Avert AG, now known as Mindset Holding AG) were seeking 152 million development dollars at a time when many of the world's major economies were sitting on their posteriors, looking ...

Last week, Nissan last week deployed a partially solar-powered ship for shipments of its Nissan Leaf battery electric vehicle throughout Japan. Nissan's "Roro" ship, which made its maiden voyage January 27, has 281 solar panels on its deck, making the vessel the first in Japan to use ...

General Motors is developing a feature for its OnStar navigation service that will allow Chevrolet Volt owners to better match recharging patterns for the extended-range plug-in vehicles with the availability of renewable energy. GM is working with utility company PJM Interconnection on the ...

BMW and Boulder, CO-based energy management company Tendril will build a demonstration home designed to power BMW's ActiveE electric vehicle while minimizing the home and the car's carbon footprint, the New York Times reported. The home, which will be built at BMW's San Francisco Bay Area ...

Toyota is working on a method of making electric-drive powertrains without using magnets that require pricey rare-earth metals such as neodymium and dysprosium, and may start integrating that process into vehicle production within two years, Reuters reported, citing Japan's Kyodo News. The ...

One very unusual electric car has debuted in Brussels. The Hiriko EV uses a hub-mounted electric motor at each wheel, though that's not the most interesting aspect of the vehicle. According to The Telegraph, the Hiriko uses an interesting rear suspension design that allows the vehicle to fold up, ...

Nissan North America and ABB, the world's biggest maker of power-transmission equipment, have announced an agreement to test used lithium-ion electric-vehicle batteries – such as those in the Nissan Leaf battery-electric vehicle – for possible energy storage uses for utility companies ...

KSPG is 100-year-old automotive supplier that could, if it wanted to, produce a complete engine. That's not the company's plan, though, since it doesn't want to compete against its many customers. Therefore, the range extender concept engine that KSPG had on display at the Detroit Auto Show is ...

Sears and wireless electric vehicle charging station maker Evatran have reached an agreement for Sears' home-installation division to distribute and install Evatran's Plugless Power stations. The agreement allows Evatran to sell its stations at a single price in which both the product and ...