A Fisker Karma for Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio is the first person to own and drive the luxury-hybrid 2012 Fisker Karma. This sleek hybrid has also caught the interest of Colin Powell and Al Gore.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/fisker-karma-leonardo-dicaprio-2011-8?op=1#ixzz1W1Fx1tIw

Audi’s new concept car

Photo by Audi

At next month’s Frankfurt auto show (IAA), Audi will show their new electric vehicle which is made of lightweight carbon fiber. This two-seater is propelled by two e-tron electric motors that will be powered by a lithium-ion battery.

Go Green. “Think Blue” with Volkswagen

“Think Blue. Symphony” is Volkswagen’s latest campaign to illustrate their milestones towards ecological sustainability. Their cars, like the Beetle and Bulli, had always been popular with the masses and suited the mobility needs of its time. If Volkswagen continue with their good work, XL1 and Golf blue-e-motion will certainly be a hit with drivers.

Electric Reality

Greenlots and evHUB announce cooperation

SINGAPORE, July 20, 2011 – Greenlots, Asia’s leading provider of charging solutions for electric vehicles, today announced a cooperation agreement with evHUB, a Singapore based researcher, innovator and integrator of electric vehicles and electric vehicle technology. evHUB’s focus on electric vehicle conversions for commercial fleets is synergistic with Greenlots’ focus on charging hardware and software modules specially designed for commercial applications.

“Greenlots is a natural fit for our developments in the commercial fleet sector,” saidDavid Chou, founder and managing director of evHUB. “We are deploying convenient, affordable and clean solutions forfleets and Greenlots has a similar mindset in its product offering.”

“We are thrilled to be working with evHUB,” stated Greenlots managing director, Oliver Risse. “As pioneers in the electric vehicle sector, we have known evHUB for several years now and this solidifies are cooperation.”

To read more,  please go to Greenlots Press Release

Greenlots is hiring! We are looking for a Software Engineer

Our Company

We are a Singapore based company dedicated to electric vehicle charging solutions. Our systems have been deployed throughout the world and we are Asia’s leading electric vehicle infrastructure supplier.

We started the Greenlots^® brand to develop and expand smart, next-generation charging infrastructure in cities worldwide. Our solution is at the cutting edge of smart grid and building technology.

The electric vehicle industry worldwide is at an early phase and is perfect for those who like to push boundaries and set standards in a new field.

This is a rare opportunity to join us at an exciting growth phase as we prepare for international sales and expansion.

Your Role

You will be in charge of maintaining and improving already developed embedded software to keep abreast of the latest features in the industry.

Together with our core team, you will be exploring various use cases, models and scenarios in electric vehicle use and coming up with solutions to best meet them.

You will also play a major role in guiding our backend network operating system for EV charging.

You will be expected to work independently and maintain a high-level of organization in your duties. We are a small team in a start-up environment, and we value people who are not afraid to take the initiative and contribute pro-actively.

Your Responsibilities
-        Define and lead the product strategy for our embedded sofware and web
-        Update and maintain various versions and patches of embedded software
-        Troubleshoot device to server communication errors
-        Troubleshoot device errors

We Seek
-        Degree in Software Engineering or Computer Science
-        Expertise with coding embedded Linux systems
-        Familiarity with C++, shell scripting
-        Familiarity with systems development lifecycle
-        Strong sense of ownership, urgency, and drive
-        Ability to support users with varying degrees of technical capabilities
-        Unwavering can-do spirit and drive to get things done despite possible setbacks
-        Availability: as soon as possible

If you see yourself thriving in a fast-paced, challenging and exciting role, we cannot wait to hear from you. Please submit your CV or resume to software@greenlots.com

Electric mobility has arrived

Will electric vehicles replace today’s oil-guzzling motor cars?

Over the last hundred years, we have overwhelmingly made the choice to fuel our cars with oil. Today, an estimated 96 percent of our liquid transport fuel needs are supplied by oil, which makes up more than half of global oil consumption. And, aside from the issues stemming from dependence on one fuel we have to address growing pollution from fossil fuel based transportation. A recent study released by the World Economic Forum urges that US$400 billion a year be invested annually in sustainable transport technologies for these reasons.

Where do we stand then in offering viable alternatives to oil? Despite a number of oil shocks over the last few decades, we really have not progressed much in finding commercially viable solutions for sustainable personal mobility. While there are a number of promising technologies such as fuel cells, hydrogen and next-generation biofuels that may develop in this direction over the next decade or so, right now electric vehicles (EVs) hold the best near-term potential for commercial adoption.

No real difference from your current car
EVs are actually quite simple, safe and proven. The main components of an EV include an electric motor, controller (electronics) and battery. Oddly enough, the first automobiles were electric and invented in the 1830s before the internal combustion engine (ICE) became popular. While ICE has been the dominant technology for the last century, electric motors remained in use for trains and smaller vehicles given their energy conversion efficiency of over 90 percent.

With increase in scale, ongoing research into battery chemicals and insulation, and continued technological improvements, battery technology is expected to become more viable as an alternative to ICE technology, particularly as charging cycles become shorter. The fun part of EVs is that they can provide full torque over a wide revolutions per minute (RPM) range, so acceleration can be as responsive as with current motor cars.

More fuel choices
Given that the majority of remaining oil reserves are in potentially unstable areas within the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Latin America, the ability to use electricity as fuel for transportation offers alternatives including renewables, coal, gas, oil and nuclear. Relying on one fuel–oil–has led to supply shocks and price volatility. With oil prices expected to increase given flat global production and steadily growing demand from Asia and the Middle East, alternatives are becoming increasingly important.

The cleaner option
Using coal or gas to power electric vehicles is still less carbon-intensive than a similar ICE vehicle, given the higher motor efficiency. Clearly, using renewables and cleaner sources of electricity is the preferred method that can result in a significant drop in carbon and other particulate matter pollution.

EVs as a potential energy storage alternative
A critical way to help mitigate grid losses resulting from generation, transmission and distribution is through large-scale storage. Once greater numbers of EVs are on the road, the aggregated battery capacity can provide meaningful storage capacity (an EV battery is roughly equivalent to an average household’s energy use).

One of the projects that Greenlots has been working on with a major European utility and carmakers is in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, which allows EVs to communicate with the power grid to enable bi-directional energy flow critical for load balancing, thus improving grid efficiency. For example, unpredictable large bursts of wind power pose a problem for grid operators and dumping this power can be extremely expensive. Once an aggregated number of EVs are plugged in, the grid operator can help “push” electricity to EV batteries and improve grid efficiency.

Strong government support
Governments around the world are supporting the rollout of EVs. China has pledged nearly 20 billion US dollars and is targeting the first 500,000 EVs by 2015. President Obama has stated a target of 1 million EVs by 2015; Germany is pushing for 1 million EVs by 2020. Globally, subsidies for both vehicles and charging infrastructure are significant and growing as more EVs are introduced.

Car companies are onboard
EV-only manufacturers including Tesla, Reva, Coda and Fisker are developing solid commercial vehicles, raising significant capital and are being taken seriously by consumers and industry. Most major car companies have or are developing plug-in hybrid or fully electric models, with companies like Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi investing in production of EVs and R&D work in EV related technologies. China alone has over 90 pure-battery electric car models. Electric vehicles are also gaining traction in public transportation, with Chinese car maker BYD recently signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Singapore transport service provider SMRT to supply all-electric buses and taxis.

Mitigating range anxiety and charging issues
In our three years of experience with EVs, running out of “fuel”, or charge, is a smaller risk in an urban environment like Singapore. Most EVs being introduced have a range of 100km or more, and with the average commuter driving around 55km per day in Singapore, this is not a significant concern. EV drivers simply plug in when reaching home and are fully-charged well before leaving in the morning.

Though EVs can potentially be more convenient than petrol cars, as there is no need to drive to a fuel station, the charging infrastructure needs to be convenient, affordable and easy to use. The charging infrastructure can be placed in accessible locations city-wide and EV drivers will be able to simply plug in and charge their cars at the office or at home once they sign up with a charging service provider. Of course, there is the need for governments and utilities to install initial infrastructure to encourage the use of EVs. This is happening globally, with many EV hotspots popping up in major urban areas globally such as London, Amsterdam, Lisbon, San Francisco and Hong Kong.

It truly is an exciting time in the transition to more sustainable transportation. Right now, EVs offer a viable alternative to oil, and given the component and vehicle manufacturing in Asia, we are smack in the middle of this trend. Singapore is an ideal test-bed location for EVs given the short distances and the city-state’s compact and urbanised environment. The test-bed aims to test and gauge different EV prototypes and charging technologies. With the 25 June 2011 test-bed launch of the first EVs and charging stations in Singapore, it is a first step towards a Smart Energy economy.

Article written by Ron Mahabir, co-founder and director of Greenlots and first appeared on www.siew.sg, 12 July 2011.

The perks of driving an Electric Vehicle explained in 3 min

Watch this video for comparisons between a gas guzzling car and electric car!

From Good

Mitsubishi Motors launches two new versions of the i-MiEV

Mitsubishi Motors Corp launched two new versions of the i-MiEV electric car recently- an even more affordable entry-level “M” version and a higher grade “G” version that promises to go further.

The automaker will buy the smaller-capacity lithium-ion batteries for the i-MiEV’s “M” grade from Toshiba Corp and continue using batteries made by its joint venture with Mitsubishi Corp and GS Yuasa Corp for the “G.”

In earlier reports, there have been news of how electric cars are used to transport supplies to disaster stricken areas in Japan.

“At first we wondered whether EVs could be useful in the disaster zones, and it turned out that they were because gasoline was scarce at the beginning,” President Osamu Masuko said. The Mitsubishi group loaned 89 i-MiEVs free to the region’s governments and others helping with relief efforts.

“Once enough gasoline became available we asked whether we could have them back, but we were told they were still useful so not one has been returned yet,” he said.

To Masuko, debates over the pick-up rate of electric cars in a country that is still recovering from a nuclear crisis,  facing tight electricity supply and the possibility of higher electricity prices, merely highlights the need to develop renewable energy and multiple power sources. As a useful source of power, electric cars can be used in emergencies by discharging electricity from their batteries. Perhaps, the plan that Mitsubishi Motors have in mind can be realised someday. They hope to develop and market a portable converter with enough output capacity to allow electric cars to power household electrics such as rice cookers and washing machines. Currently, they already have a converter for laptop computers and other products that require less electricity. Electric cars, he said, could also be a useful source of power in an emergency by discharging electricity from their batteries.

From Reuters

Reduce corporate carbon footprint with a fleet of electric vehicles

At Ernst & Young, they have implemented several mobility solutions to change its corporate mindset.

The company started on a programme to encourage their employees to use their cars less frequently. This initiative includes flexible working hours, and the ability to work from any of the firm’s 12 offices throughout Belgium. This holistic mobility approach comprise first class train travel and electric vehicles, with the hope to reduce average carbon emissions to 100g/km by 2015.

Previously, the company operates a fleet of 1,100 cars in Belgium and already has a core CO2 of 122g/km per car.

To continue on the effort, employees can take first class train tickets for 60 days during the year under a rail lease scheme. But they are not to use their cars on any of these days and at no extra cost to themselves.

Employees’ driving behaviours are monitored in a series of eco-driving courses to encourage employees to drive more frugally and use less fuel.

Ghislain Vanfraechem, who is heading up the project comments, “We have ambitious targets to reduce our corporate carbon footprint,” he said. “We want to have an average CO2 of 112g/km by 2012 and to be down to 100g/km by 2015. And while we will achieve that generally by selecting new cars with lower carbon emissions, it has also been necessary to change the corporate mindset.”

From Fleetnews