P.V.Power

JBFTI - Yes there is a French company developing compressed air cars. In fact there is news this week: Full story at http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/02/ta...s_sig.html#more MDI website http://www.theaircar.com/

another day, another step along the way. This time it's Mitsubishi - "...The company plans to conduct test drives using the batteries in prototype vehicles by as early as next year. MHI showed a prototype electric vehicle powered by li-ion batteries last year at the Renewable Energy 2006 International Exhibition in Japan. The company also reportedly plans to develop electric motors for cars, with the intention of packaging batteries and motors together..." http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/01/re...subis.html#more

Methinks you have totally missed the point I was making macaque - you identify the bad end of the chain but you insist on campaigning against the good end. If the power generators are the bad guys, campaign against the bad guys. Don't use their behaviour as some excuse to attack someone else and delay progress in areas where progress is possible. Otherwise it sounds like your agenda is nothing to do with the environment at all, and you are merely hired to do the rounds of green forums rubbishing every threat to the oilbased carmakers.. (and as we all know - there are people who do just that) pvp

"Horribly ungreen" is a gross exaggeration of course. There are environmental and health benefits in the congested areas where such vehicles currently operate. The ultimate ideal - for me and many others at least - is for all road vehicles to be electric, and for all power stations to be generating power in the greenest way. There is a long way to go on the latter - but plenty of pressure to do so. But frustration at slowness in one end of the system is no excuse for postponing efforts at the other end. It is perfectly sensible to push for progress all along the line and to applaud each step that is made in the right direction. Campaigning FOR greener electricity production doesn't have to involve campaigning AGAINST electric vehicles. Don't be such a grumpy curmudgeon! And besides - the move towards all-electric vehicles is happening anyway. Check out today's update from Tanfield (TAN). Watch out for an imminent fleet announcement from Modec of Coventry (Tesco have bought 15 of their electric vans and are coming for more). Have a look at the Subaru R1e - a beautiful little electric car which is selling nicely in Japan (where tax concessions favour it). Subaru confirm they are aware of huge demand for them to market it worldwide - which they will do so in 2009 - by which time the high price of battery packs is expected to have begun tumbling. (At present the batteries typically make up half the price of a car - and the R1e would cost aupwards of £17k in the UK now). See the Phoenix Motorcars sports utility vehicle (above). Following the succes of its 7.5t Newton truck, Tanfield is pressing ahead with introducing a 12t version for the US market, followed later by an electric artic. Plus a new large-Transit sized Edison van range. 2007 looks like being a breakthrough year in terms of public realisation that electric vehicles are arriving rather than just being talked about. That King Canute knew a thing or two about the futility of trying to stem the tide. The tide is running in favour of electric vehicles - with or without you on board Macaque pvp PS: I notice your only other posting appears to be an attack on another of the greener vehicle fuels. Do you have some vested interest in oil-based transport?

Serious progress: Phoenix Motorcars Books Orders for All-Electric Truck 12 January 2007 The all-electric Sport Utility Truck (SUT). Phoenix Motorcars has received 75 fleet orders from several municipalities and one utility company for its new zero-emission, all-electric, freeway-ready sport utility truck (SUT). The company, which is on target to manufacture and sell 500 fleet-ready vehicles by year’s end, will produce 16 pilot-build vehicles next month. Some of the 16 vehicles will be used to continue validation of the federally mandated safety test process. The company is working with Boshart Engineering, an Ontario, California company that specializes in vehicle certification services, to gain its Federal Motor Vehicle Certification. The company also confirmed that in consideration for a three-year exclusivity agreement within the US, Altair Nanotechnologies has received a 16.6% ownership in the company. The three-year exclusivity agreement provides Phoenix with limited, exclusive use of Altairnano’s NanoSafe battery packs in four-wheel, all-electric vehicles having a gross weight up to 6,000 pounds. Phoenix must meet minimum battery pack purchases, annually, to maintain the limited exclusivity agreement. The minimum commitment to maintain exclusivity for 2007 would provide $16 Million in battery pack sales to Altairnano. The Phoenix Motorcars sport utility truck combines the Altairnano 35 kWh li-ion battery pack with a 100 kW peak, 55 kW continuous motor from UQM Technologies. The motor develops peak torque of 550 Nm (406 lb-ft). The SUT can cruise on the freeway at up to 95 mph while carrying five passengers and a full payload. It exceeds all specifications for a Type III ZEV and has a driving range of up to 130 miles. The battery can be charged using an off-board high-power 250 kW charger in less than 10 minutes to 95% SOC. Charging with the on-board 6.6 kW charger takes 5 to 6 hours. The battery has a life-span of 12 years or more. Phoenix Motorcars’ 2007 market strategy targets operators of fleet vehicles, such as public utilities, public transportation providers, and delivery services. A limited number of vehicles will be available to consumers in 2007 with an expanded-consumer launch scheduled for 2008. Phoenix Motorcars will introduce a SUV model in late 2007.

For the true green of course - the electricity used to charge these zero-emission vehicles, need to have itself been generated by green means.. Though it is all usefully a move in the right direction.

Among private cars, electric vehicles still make gimmicky headlines, and most stories (except maybe from Mitsubishi) relate to prototypes, one-off conversions, or small quantity localised sales. But there is some real solid progress taking place at last in the area of electric delivery vehicles. I know the electric Berlingo/Partner had only limited success, but up in the north-east UK, Tanfield Group (TAN) have been making serious headway with bigger vans. Their Smith Electric Vehicles division (who have been making milk floats since forever) launched a 7.5tonne all-electric delivery truck (the Newton range) in Amsterdam a fortnight ago, in the livery of TNT parcels. Sainsburys are also trialling them. And the company has secured government funding for promotional trials in several UK cities. Ken Livingston is doing his bit to encourage zero-emission delivery vehicles in inner London (and wants to see them well established in time to show off during the 2012 Olympics). The firm has recently renewed its contract with Dairy Crest to maintain (and sometimes renew) its fleet of 2600 milk floats - half of which are electric. And Dairy Crest last week won approval for its takeover of Express Dairies - bringing more vehicles into the deal. The real significance of this is that it involves a nationwide (UK and Ireland) network of Dairy Crest vehicle service centres which will now be operated by Tanfield who can use them as an infrastructure base to serve all electric road vehicles, not just Dairy Crest ones - making it easier to market electric vehicles in all regions. That Newton van range (which is additional to its existing Edison and Faraday ranges) involves buying in readymade mass market chassis/cab from Avia - a Prague-based firm which has just been acquired by the Indian truck firm Ashok-Leyland - owned largely by the Hinduja Brothers. They have major global expansion plans and expect to compete strongly in Europe/UK. This potentially opens seriously big channels for bringing Smith electric vehicles to wider markets. Tanfield's main website is http://www.tanfieldgroup.co.uk Website for the Smith Electric Vehicles division is http://www.smithelectricvehicles.com/ Alert viewers watching Channel 4 tv news on Monday, in a feature about the Stern Report on global warming, will have seen the boss of another electric vanmaker - Coventry-based Modec - showing off their latest range. They are not stockmarket listed. The company is run by the same team that successfully developed the familiar TX1 London taxicab. Website is http://www.modec.co.uk/ An image of the 7.5tonne Smith/Avia truck in TNT colours is available at http://www.tnn.co.uk/BigLorryBlog/ploneart...0-20.0542067639 PVP (I hold shares in Tanfield group)