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1. GM Volt Viability Plan: First Incentives, Then Tech "Epiphanies"
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2. Acuity's Bright Idea: A $205M Deal for Sensor Switch
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3. Daily Sprout
GM Volt Viability Plan: First Incentives, Then Tech "Epiphanies"
Josie Garthwaite - Automotive
The first generation of Chevy Volt extended-range electric cars, at the center of General Motors’ financial viability plan, has yet to hit showrooms. But that (along with its financial troubles) hasn’t kept GM from working on generations two and three, the company said in a call with reporters this morning. GM said that in fact the parallel projects were a sign of the automaker’s long-term commitment to electric vehicles for the mass market.
To be sure, gen-one Volts will be on the expensive side for an average car buyer — in the neighborhood of $40,000, according to former Volt frontman Bob Lutz, or about twice the cost anticipated for the new Honda Insight hybrid. This makes government incentives for fuel-efficient vehicles especially important in GM’s plan for the Volt. “First-generation technology is expensive,” said Bob Kruse, GM’s executive director of global vehicle engineering for hybrids, electric vehicles and batteries. “Incentives help make it viable.”
While Kruse said the company is “very confident” in first-year sales projections, low gas prices could dampen that outlook (not to mention the recession and credit crunch that have put the brakes on auto sales).
“Dollar-fifty-a-gallon gasoline is not necessarily helping with the business case,” Kruse acknowledged. Asked if the company might sell gen-one Volts at a loss, as Lutz said it would (and as we’ve noted), Kruse said the price has not been finalized and will depend on the cost of petroleum at the time of the rollout, which is still slated for November 2010.
But GM doesn’t plan to lean on government aid forever. Kruse and chief Volt engineer Andrew Farah reiterated GM’s previously disclosed stance that there’s a learning curve for any new technology, and that the company hopes to slash the cost of the battery pack (the most expensive part of the vehicle) for future generations. Any big improvements in the technology will be leveraged to bring down the cost, they said, rather than increasing the all-electric range beyond 40 miles, which GM considers the “sweet spot” for meeting the travel demands of mass-market consumers.
Denise Gray, who heads up battery development for the Volt, offered a few details about how, beyond scaling up production volumes, GM plans to bring down the cost of manufacturing a battery pack. She said the company is looking to makers of smaller components — separators, for example — for savings, and also experimenting with different metals and integrating four-part pieces into one (in its current design, the pack has more than 150 parts). GM also expects to find savings in the electronics system and thermal designs, largely through in-house software development. How does GM plan to make these breakthroughs, or “epiphanies,” as Kruse called them? By investing in people and resources — perhaps an even bigger hurdle than the technological ones.
Acuity's Bright Idea: A $205M Deal for Sensor Switch
David Ehrlich - Big Green
Sensor Switch’s products, which Acuity said can substantially cut energy consumption, include motion and light sensors, and distributed lighting control devices. Acuity said the deal will give it a boost in the building construction market, as well as in building control systems.
The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval, comes on the heels of Acuity’s recent deal for Gendale, Calif.’s Lighting Control and Design. Acuity grabbed Lighting Control and Design in January, but did not disclose the financial terms of the deal. Lighting Control and Design’s products include dimming controls, building interfaces and digital thermostats for commercial and institutional lighting systems.
Sensor Switch will likely continue to operate under its own brand — Acuity Brands, true to its name, has a number of brands under its umbrella — but it’s unclear if its operations will be rolled up into a joint energy management division. There’s likely more than a little crossover in the operations of Sensor Switch and Lighting Control and Design.
The lighting industry could be a bright spot for cleantech in a down market. Earlier this year, Cree, an LED lighting company, posted a positive second quarter report, with revenue up 5 percent from the same quarter last year. In November, the similarly-named Oree raised $4 million in funding for its tiny LEDs.
Daily Sprout
Josie Garthwaite - Misc
Drill, Maybe, Drill: As the Obama administration outlines its energy plans, it’s caught between oil companies calling for follow-through on Obama’s pledge to support some expansion of offshore oil drilling, and environmental groups, who want a drilling ban to be reinstated. — New York Times
Cash for Clunkers Back from the Dead: Congress has a new proposal to give out vouchers for up to $5,000 for people to trade in old gas guzzlers for new vehicles, a slightly tweaked version of the “cash for clunkers” proposal that failed earlier this year. This time the cash would only be good for cars produced in Canada, Mexico or the U.S. of A. — Bloomberg
Capacitor Breakthrough: A new study out of the University of Maryland finds nanotech can increase the energy density of electrostatic capacitors up to tenfold, opening up possibilities in the electric vehicle and device markets. — Cleantech Group
Making Vessel Emissions Ship Shape: As the EU and UN pressure the shipping industry to clean up its smokestacks, a Singapore-based firm called Ecospec says it has invented, tested and patented a way to remove carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, which causes acid rain, and soot from ship exhausts. — Reuters
Gore Lauds Spanish Energy Plans: Al Gore said: "Green infrastructure is the option of choice to solve the climate and economic crisis. We need sources that are free forever, like the sun, wind and earth. Spain is one of the leading countries in all of these areas." — Wire.
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