Daily Sprout
Josie Garthwaite - Misc
Home on the Carbon-Offsetting Range: Rangeland sequestration projects, which involve paying landowners to trap carbon dioxide underground by keeping grass unmowed, are on the cusp of a major boom. — Scientific American
DOE Unveils Marine Energy Database: The U.S. Department of Energy released a new searchable database today that includes information about the technology stage and permitting of wave, current, and ocean thermal energy conversion projects. — DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Word Watchdog: Be Gone, Green: “Going green” and “green” in environmental contexts received the most nominations in Lake Superior State University’s 34th annual survey of words that should be banished “from the Queen’s English” for misuse, overuse, and general uselessness. — NYT’s Green Inc.
Elizabeth Kolbert on a Green Collar Economy: Van Jones argues that the best way to fight both global warming and urban poverty is by creating millions of "green jobs.” But could an environmentally oriented public-works program be just a giant green boondoggle? — The New Yorker
M2E Power Gets a New CEO: Eric Apfelbach, former president and CEO of biofuel company Virent Energy Systems has joined Boise-based kinetic energy startup M2E as president and chief executive. — Press Release
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Lotus to Build Electric Vehicles
Josie Garthwaite - Automotive
Sports car maker Lotus plans to enter the electric vehicle race, CEO Michael Kimberley told the Financial Times last week. “Don’t be surprised to see an electric Lotus shortly,” he said, adding that a concept version could debut as early as March, at Geneva’s International Motor Show. For now, Kimberley said, "We are working on the technologies that will go behind it."
Of course, the technologies behind an extended-range electric vehicle — Lotus’s chosen route to a battery-powered model — represent no small amount of work and potential for delays. The company, which builds bodies for the Tesla Roadster, plans to turn to a “major automotive manufacturer” for many of the model’s key components, including a fuel-based range extender. Tesla Motors, a likely rival for Lotus if its plans go through, has also turned to contractors for parts of the all-electric Roadster.
Lotus has some serious catching up to do — Fisker Automotive, GM and Tesla revved their engines for an EV race years ago, and Tesla is rumored to have a deal with a large automaker (likely Daimler) for its third-generation vehicle. But Lotus also has an opportunity to avoid some of the pitfalls that hampered early movers. As the first luxury electric sports car startup to enter production, Tesla has learned a series of lessons the hard way. For example, after being sued by Magna Powertrain, the company hired to design and build transmissions for the Roadster and an as-yet unseen sedan, Tesla’s then-VP of sales, marketing and service, Darryl Siry, told us, "One of our lessons is that we need to have more control over our fate and manage the process in house." Another lesson? Watch out for suppliers and contractors launching out on their own.
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Ener1 Seeks $480M in Government Loans
David Ehrlich - Automotive
No, Ener1 isn’t looking for a piece of the auto bailout pie. But the hybrid and electric vehicle battery maker has applied for $480 million in loans from the U.S. Department of Energy’s advanced vehicle incentive program.
The DOE’s $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program was set up to help U.S. auto companies and suppliers build or retool manufacturing facilities in order to boost the mileage of new vehicles. Applications for the first round of loans were due by the end of 2008.
New York-based Ener1, which makes lithium-ion batteries through its EnerDel unit, said in a statement on Friday that if it gets the government loans, it plans to double the battery manufacturing capacity at its Indiana plant to produce 600,000 battery packs per year by 2011. The company also plans to use the cash to build a second, larger plant that could churn out batteries for up to 1.2 million vehicles by 2015.
The government cash could come in handy amid troubled times for the auto industry. Ener1, which also has operations in fuel cell development and nanomaterials, said federal assistance is necessary for the company to accelerate its production capacity to meet an expected boom in hybrid and electric vehicles in the U.S.
Last month, Ener1 announced that it secured a $30 million line of credit from its principal investor, Ener1 Group, which it said would fully fund the company through 2009. But that news came the day after Norwegian electric vehicle maker Think, an Ener1 customer, said that it was temporarily shutting down production and seeking aid from the government of Norway. At the time, Ener1 said there had been no change to Think’s $34 million battery order.
Some other U.S. battery makers are also looking for government help, forming a consortium last month to build a battery plant in the States as a way to compete against the dominant Asian battery manufacturers. The National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Battery Cell Manufacture, which includes 3M, Johnson Controls, and Altair Nanotechnologies, is looking for $1 billion in government funding to support the new manufacturing facility.
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