Green Car Tips » Suub

University in Tokyo comes up with non-rare earth metal electric motor [w/video]

Suub — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 02:51:05 +0000

While electric cars save the environment, they cost a lot because their motors make use of rare metals. Recently, a research team led by Nobukazu Hoshi of a university in Tokyo specializing in the sciences created an electric motor that doesn’t depend on any rare metals for it to run. Instead of using rare Earth elements, the Japanese team has found a way to power electric motors with cheaper and easier-to-find materials.

During the Techno-Frontier 2011, Nobukazu’s team showcased their motor invention also with the electric car they also built.

According to Nobukazu’s statement, the university is currently building an electric vehicle that can run without the using rare Earth elements. He said that the electric car they’re building is as big as the 2nd gen Prius and runs on with a motor that is called the Switched Reluctance type The electric car has 50kW of output power of over95% efficiency.

The so-called Switched Reluctance makes use of the difference that exist in the magnetic fields to power the vehicle mechanically. Nobukazu’s team said that the electric car is resistant to heat and mechanical shocks as well. While that sounds might potential, the downside here is that it doesn’t have much torque power compared to the traditional electric vehicles. But hey, this one is definitely cheaper because it makes use of cheaper materials.

This is just the first unveiling. Further modifications and test runs have to be made to improve and asses this electric motor’s performance and practicality.

GM teams up with The Gas Company to push for Hydrogen initiatives in Hawaii

Suub — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 00:57:17 +0000

The momentum for green transport technology might have shifted to the side of plug-in vehicles but the proponents of the use of hydrogen for vehicles are still pushing for their cause even for a perfect EV environment like Hawaii.

Recently, General Motors in tandem with The Gas Company plan to setup twenty four H2 stations around O’ahu thru 2015. This plan was first revealed last May as part of the hydrogen initiative in Hawaii. There are new partners pushing for the use of hydrogen including the US Department of Energy; DBEDT or Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism; Aloha Petroleum; US Marines; US Air Force; National Renewable Energy Laboratory; University of Hawaii; US Pacific Fleet; National Renewable Energy Laboratory; University of California Irvine; and County of Hawaii.

The move will help a lot in terms of energy and environmental concerns since Hawaii imports oil for its uses. The small size of the island means the planned number of hydrogen stations will be able to supply all the fuel cell cars of around 10,000 users. The small size of the island though makes it perfect for electric vehicles.

Although there is a big push for hydrogen dependent vehicles in the island, the EV supporters are not backing off. Coda and Better Place are still planning to market their electric cars in Hawaii. Before the end of this month, EV fans will host a car rally and they are hoping to get the support of President Obama who visits the island as part of the family’s winter vacation.

2011 MKZ Hybrid from Lincoln gets SmartGauge upgrade

Suub — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 15:33:37 +0000

The 2011 hybrid Lincoln MKZ is set to hit dealerships by fall and the carmaker installs an updated version of the SmartGauge that first appeared on the Fusion hybrid from Ford last year. The concept of the updated SmartGauge will still be the same, a pair of LCD displays sandwich the speedometer in the middle and gives the driver layers of information about his driving and teach him how to be more efficient on the road.

The update gives the LCDs new color palletes. Instead of the old blue scheme, the SmartGauge now has green and gold as a classier theme. The leaves which have been present since its intro is still there and still serves its purpose of giving feedback to the driver about the average consumption of fuel on the short term. If you have a thrifty driving style, the system will give you more leaves. Go metal to metal and the leaves will be gone.

The upgraded SmartGauge now provides an indicator for long-term good fuel consumption. There will be flowers, apple blossoms to be exact. If you have a good mileage, though the exact numbers were not shared by Ford, the first blooms will appear after a month or so, and more flowers will appear as you stretch the fuel you have. Earn all the flowers of the system and that will translate to a savings of around $8,000 in fuel and about 30 tons of carbon dioxide emission over the life span of the car.

Pretty cool!