Nissan’s LEAF Zero Emission Car Goes on Tour

Stock photo.

For anyone curious about what it would be like to drive a ‘zero-emission’ all-electric car without having to buy one, you might be able to get your chance on Nissan’s North American tour of its newly developed LEAF five-door hatchback.

Nissan has just begun its LEAF tour which will stop in a total of 22 cities in 11 states, the District of Columbia, and Vancouver, Canada. The automaker is going all-out to showcase the hatchback, which is expected to rollout in mass production in late 2010.

While Nissan is in full-swing marketing mode, they’re also providing some hard facts about the LEAF, which is designed with a lithium ion chassis. For those unfamiliar with automotive terminology, the chassis generally refers to the frame of a vehicle, including components such as the engine, transmission, and suspension.

The LEAF has a laminated lithium ion rechargeable battery with a capacity of 24kWh (kilowatt hours) and a power of over 90kW (kilowatts), built by the Automotive Energy Supply Corporation.

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Jerusalem Signs Agreement to Expand Charging Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles

Left to right: CEO, Better Place Israel, Maj. Gen. (ret.) Moshe Kaplinsky; Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat; and Better Place Founder and CEO Shai Agassi. Photo courtesy of Flickr.com.

Jerusalem, one of the oldest and holiest cities in the world, is making a move to become one of the greenest cities as well. Mayor Nir Barkat has just signed a new substantial agreement with Better Place Israel to begin the development of a charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in the city.

Better Place, a international provider of electric vehicle infrastructure, services, and intelligent network design, has already placed several charge spots at the entrance of the city as part of the pilot program that will take place next year.

“Electric transportation presents the promise of reducing air pollution and preserving the capital for future generations, while contributing to the reduction of the country’s dependence on oil,” said the mayor during the signing ceremony.

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Global Partnerships Competing for First Place in the Race for Optimal Fuel Efficient Technologies

Argonne National Laboratory’s senior staff signing a Memonrandum of Understanding with India’s NATRiP during a video conference call. From left: Larry Johnson, TTRDC director; Raj Sekar, a senior mechanical engineer; and Eric Isaacs, Argonne director. The laboratory is one of the U.S. Department of Energy’s largest facilities for science and engineering research. Photo courtesy of Argonne.

As competition intensifies among automotive companies to come up with the most fuel efficient vehicles that are also cost-effective to produce, some research groups are taking the alternative approach of global cooperation.

Argonne National Laboratory’s Transportation Technology Research and Development Center has just signed a partnership with NATRiP, India’s National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project, through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop energy efficient transportation technologies.

This latest agreement will allow both groups to cooperate through information exchanges of publicly available research data, and visits to each other’s facilities.

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Ford Showcasing Its First Generation ‘Intelligent’ Vehicle-to-Electric Grid Communication System

The Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid. Photo courtesy of jalopnik.com.

In the race for brand differentiation and who can provide the most eco-friendly fuel efficiency, Ford is letting the public take a look at its first generation ‘intelligent’ vehicle-to-grid communications and control system for its plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

For newbies to the industry, a plug-in hybrid can be charged up like a full electric vehicle, but when the battery is depleted, it can run like a regular hybrid using gasoline.

The new communications system, according to the company, would work through the battery being able to communicate directly with the electrical grid via a “smart” meter provided by utility companies through wireless networks.

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New York on the Leading Edge of Hydrogen Fuel Station Infrastructure

Hydrogen fuel station at JFK Airport. Photo courtesy of Reuters.

For people in the New York City area that think about buying a hydrogen fuel vehicle, but don’t because of deterrents like limited places to refuel, here’s some news that might interest you.

Working on providing more fueling infrastructure for these vehicles, Shell Hydrogen in its continuing partnership with General Motors just opened up a hydrogen fuel station at the JFK Airport, and is planning to open up one more in the Bronx this month.

With the opening of another station in White Plans last year, Shell announced that this creates “the first metropolitan cluster of stations anywhere in the world to power hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.” These three stations will be about 30 miles from each other.

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