Les voitures électriques sont presque prêtes

[LindbergMTL]

Voiture électrique: la batterie pourra aussi servir à la maison

 

 

Agence France-Presse

Tokyo

Le PDG de l'alliance automobile Renault-Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, a affirmé qu'une batterie rechargeable de voiture électrique pouvait servir au-delà de la durée de vie du véhicule, pour stocker et fournir de l'énergie à usage domestique.

 

M. Ghosn a tenu ces propos lors du lancement au Japon de la Renault Mégane Sport du constructeur français, à l'ambassade de France à Tokyo.

 

Parallèlement, le japonais Nissan a commencé à livrer son modèle tout électrique Leaf aux États-Unis et au Japon, avant l'Europe début 2011.

 

Plus ici...

[LindbergMTL]

Bollore's Autolib investment over 100 mln eur -CEO

 

(Reuters) - Billionaire tycoon Vincent Bollore (BOLL.PA) will invest over 100 million euros into Paris's upcoming electric car hire scheme, known as "AutoLib", he said on Friday.

 

Autolib, modelled on the popular Velib bike hire scheme, is due to start operation next autumn, and will allow drivers to rent electric cars by the half-hour from one of the 1,000 stations due to be put in place in Paris and its suburbs.

 

"For us, Autolib is at least 100 million euros (of investment)," Bollore told a news conference after his holding company won the contract to supply cars for the new scheme. "We wrote 60 million (in the presentation), but 60 is the minimum."

 

He reiterated the figure would certainly be 100 million, "plus investments we make elsewhere".

 

Bollore is supplying bubble-shaped Bluecars, developed with its Italian partner Pininfarina (PNNI.MI), for Autolib.

 

Although the project is not expected to reach break-even for seven years, according to Bollore, he said the group's shareholders would be patient.

 

Bollore's group produces the lithium polymer metal batteries for the cars, which have an urban range of 250 kilometres and will take around four hours to charge.

 

The group is betting on lithium metal polymer technology because of its ability to resist heat and cold, while big car makers like Renault (RENA.PA) and Nissan (7201.T), which are investing billions of euros in electric vehicles, have plumped for lithium-ion batteries.

 

"The battery is not only 50 percent of the value of the car but 99 percent of the problems that come up," Bollore said, citing safety issues, a need for a good range and the fact that a car battery had to be recharged thousands of times. (Editing by Will Waterman)

[jesseps]

Only a week after the much-hyped rollout of electric cars at the Los Angeles Auto Show, media carried reports about how Ontario electricity costs are expected to double over the next 20 years.

 

That forecast must have Ontarians questioning whether buying an electric car is a good idea.

 

But there are other questions all Canadians would be wise to ask about electric cars, and the electricity needed to power them. Let’s put those questions into perspective.

 

Will there be enough electricity?

 

Even the staggering electricity rate increases announced by Ontario would not generate nearly enough power to handle a large auto-recharge load, nor could already stretched power grids handle it, either. Hydro-Québec recently said its distribution grid could accommodate a meagre 1,000 car plug-ins.

 

In other provinces, costly retooling of power generation, mainline transmission and local distribution grids would be required.

 

Won’t wind and solar generate a lot of the power needed for electric cars?

 

Wind and solar generate less than 1% of Canada’s power supply, and most provinces have subsidies aimed at increasing that portion.

 

The most spectacular example of the skyrocketing cost of subsidies can be seen in Ontario, where the Liberal government forces consumers to pay 16 times as much for solar power and three times more for wind, as the current average electricity rate.

 

Ontario’s 20-year plan calls for $23 billion in subsidies to the wind and solar industry, supposedly allowing coal-fired power to be phased out.

 

But its own numbers show that with wind and solar capacity available less than 30% of the time, these costly projects still won’t bring about the end of coal.

 

Are electric cars “green”?

 

That depends on how the electricity is generated. Water generates most of the electricity in Newfoundland, Quebec, Manitoba and B.C., while Alberta and Saskatchewan generate nearly all power from coal and natural gas.

 

Over all, about 75% of Canada’s electricity comes from water and nuclear power, and 25% from fossil fuels. When measured by fossil-fuel emissions, use of electric cars in Canada can generally be considered green. The situation is the reverse in the U.S., where fossil fuels — mainly coal —generate 75% of electricity. Operating an electric car there would account for more fossil-fuel emissions than a conventional gas-powered vehicle (thus making GM’s Chevy Volt a tougher sell to eco-conscious consumers).

 

Are electric cars practical in Canada?

 

Besides their high price tag, limited range and the inconvenience of long charging cycles, there’s another factor even the greenest of Canadians need to consider before buying an electric car: Our northern climate. Anyone who has had trouble starting a car in cold weather knows battery performance plummets with temperature.

 

In our dark, cold winters, we also need battery power to heat the car and run headlights.

 

The combined result is a much shorter driving range than they’ll be touting in the electric-car showroom.

 

The green-car race is imploding as beleaguered citizens, struggling to deal with tough economies, see electricity rates soar and expensive wind and solar power missing in action when most needed.

 

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu reveals development of an electric-car battery to be competitive with the internal combustion engine might be five years away.

 

“The storage capacity of (electric) car batteries needs to be increased by six or seven times, their lives need to be extended by 15 years, and their cost needs to be reduced by a factor of three,” he said at the UN climate conference in Cancun, Mexico.

 

Calgary Sun

[LindbergMTL]

Je me souviens d'avoir lu quelque part que la recharge des voitures, se faisant surtout pendant la nuit, n'allait pas être un problème pour les fournisseurs d'électricité. Le mouvement est instoppable d'après moi. Les batteries vont s'améliorer.

[LindbergMTL]

E.V.’s Are Here, but Expect Wait for Charging Stations

 

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/20/e-v-s-are-here-but-expect-wait-for-charging-stations/?nl=automobiles

 

The Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf were delivered to their first customers last week, and a small fleet of Think City electric vehicles were handed over to the State of Indiana for use in state parks. The plug-in E.V. has arrived, and it begs the question: will a public charging network be available to support the cars?

 

Led by Coulomb Technologies and Ecotality, the first home chargers are being installed. A robust and targeted public network is coming, but it is still very much a work in progress.

 

Last Thursday night, Congress passed a tax bill that includes an extension of the federal tax credit for E.V. chargers. The one-year extension reduces the credit from 50 percent of the purchase price up to $2,000 to 30 percent of the cost up to $1,000, but most E.V. advocates are happy to see even a smaller credit passed in the current political climate.

 

 

“It’s unfortunate that it was cut from 50 percent to 30 percent, and the total reduced from $2,000 to $1,000, but something is better than nothing,” said Paul Scott, vice president of Plug In America, a California-based nonprofit group. “We’d love to have the $2,000 credit back, but $1,000 is reasonable,” added Colin Read, vice president of corporate development at Ecotality.

 

For business installers, the charger credit was also retained but reduced to 30 percent of the cost up to $30,000. Phil Gott, an auto analyst at IHS Global Insight, says that public charging addresses “a psychological need” on the part of E.V. buyers and that a relatively small but strategically located network of chargers in each region is likely to provide that comfort.

 

Most automakers are selling the cars initially in select deployment cities and metropolitan areas. “The automakers are working closely with the charging companies to concentrate the network in roll-out cities,” said Matt Mattila, project manager for the E.V. charging-advisory group Project Get Ready. “That wouldn’t be the case if the cars were being delivered nationwide.”

 

 

Coulomb Technologies

A public charging station in Bellevue, Wash., installed by Coulomb Technologies.

But public networks are still in early stages. Richard Lowenthal, chief executive of Coulomb, said that it had shipped a “small number” of the 4,600 public and home chargers that were being provided free as part of the company’s federally supported ChargePoint America project, which was active in nine regions around the United States. Initial ChargePoint partners are Ford, General Motors and Smart.

 

Mr. Read of Ecotality identified the Christmas shopping season as an obstacle to widespread installation of public E.V. chargers because businesses want to defer construction work until mid-January. “They don’t even want third-party contractors on the property doing site assessments,” he said, predicting that wide deployment would not begin until February.

 

For its part, Ecotality is linked with the E.V. Project, another federally supported program providing free chargers to specific regions. Mr. Read said the company had completed 40 residential installations, 1,300 residential site assessments and 300 commercial site assessments. The E.V. Project, in conjunction with General Motors and Nissan, is scheduled to provide nearly 15,000 chargers by next summer, which Mr. Read apportioned as about 8,300 residential and 6,500 commercial points.

 

The E.V. Project has lined up a diverse group of partners, including the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain. Cracker Barrel said in late November that it would install Ecotality Blink stations at 24 locations in pilot markets.

 

Far larger is General Electric’s planned deployment of 25,000 to 30,000 public and private WattStation chargers, which would be deployed along with the 25,000 E.V.’s it has pledged to purchase by 2015. “We’re helping drive the industry toward a tipping point,” said Michael Mahan, the company’s product manager of electric vehicle infrastructure.

 

A report from Project Get Ready and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants analyzes 50 large metropolitan markets in the United States, identifying those most prepared for E.V.’s. In the Leader category are the California cities San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Jose. New York is the only Northeast city identified as a leader, with Portland, Ore., in a leadership role for the Northwest.

[jesseps]

Tesla Motors is now taking reservations for its upcoming Model S in Canada. Deliveries of the electric sedan will commence in mid-2012. Tesla says that the Model S will start at a base price of $57,400, but points out that the battery-powered four-door vehicle will qualify for various incentives, like Ontario's $8,500 rebate.

 

Tesla says that it will crank out 5,000 Model S sedans in 2012, before ramping up to 20,000 units a year in 2013. The first 1,000 vehicles to roll off the assembly line will make up the North American Model S Signature Series, equipped with the top-of-the-line 480-kilometer (298-mile) range battery pack, unique badging, a slew of options and priced at approximately $77,400.

 

Tesla is taking reservations for the Model S online and plans call for the automaker to open a store in Toronto in the near future. The Model S prototype will be on display for the public in Toronto from June 11-18.

 

(Courtesy of Autoblog Green)

 

Hopefully one day we will have a Tesla dealership in Montreal.

[IluvMTL]

Montreal Grand Prix 2011: Time to look to the future of racing

By WALTER BUCHIGNANI, The Gazette June 11, 2011 10:44 AM

 

Maybe it's not such a nutty idea after all.

 

At least, the European Union doesn't think so. Nor does the Fédération internationale de l'automobile, the governing body of Formula One.

 

That's right - the two bodies have joined forces to push for an F1-style championship for electric cars to be held on Grand Prix circuits around the world.

 

The concept might sound familiar to readers of this column.

 

It was exactly a year ago, during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, that the thought hit me as I watched a museum collection of vintage F1 cars take to the track at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

 

They were there again Friday: icons like Ferrari, Lotus, Brabham, Tyrrell, Shadow, March and Williams - two dozen in all, resurrected from the 1970s and '80s.

 

These gleaming, exquisite machines were being put through their paces by their driver-owners in preparation for what's called the Historic Grand Prix, one of the support races ahead of Sunday's main event.

 

And once again, what a treat - especially to watch the No. 2 Ferrari 312T5 once raced by the legend after whom our island track is named.

 

A year later, though, this drive though memory lane raises the same question: If we're going to celebrate the different eras of F1, why stop at the past and present?

 

Why not also the future?

 

Hence my suggestion last year for a new kind of support race, one featuring vehicles powered by an alternative energy source.

 

"Imagine: the world's first alternative-energy car race to be held on an official F1 track as part of Grand Prix weekend - sanctioned by the FIA."

 

Makes sense, no? Well, not everyone thinks so, I was quick to discover as my inbox began to fill up with email calling me naive - and worse.

 

A greener Grand Prix? "Not very likely in the near future," said one letter published in The Gazette.

 

"As a longtime F1 enthusiast, I can attest that the main fan allures have always been the ear-splitting noise, the noxious fumes and the burning rubber," said the letterwriter from Kirkland.

 

Fine. But let's be fair. I never suggested F1 should ditch the internal-combustion engine toute suite. I merely raised the idea of providing a peek into the possible future of F1.

 

I still maintain that such a support race would draw larger crowds than, say, the Ferrari Challenge that plays to mostly empty grandstands year after year.

 

Who knows - it might even attract non-racing fans to Île Notre Dame, not to mention celebrity spectators from the world of politics and entertainment.

 

But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

 

Or are we? I must admit I felt more than a twinge of vindication when I spotted the following Financial Times headline in April:

 

"EU seeks F1 buzz for electric Grand Prix."

 

The London Telegraph matched the story the next day:

 

"FIA president Jean Todt and EU commissioner keen to set up new electric Formula One Championship."

 

So there. The Times story began: "The European Commission has asked Formula One's governing body to set up a racing championship series for electric cars, as a way of increasing public awareness and excitement about newtechnology vehicles."

 

The FIA, according to the report, "was working with commissioners to create new electric car, go-kart and single-seater racing categories, raising the prospect of an F1style electric car championship on Grand Prix circuits."

 

Not that the news came as a total surprise.

 

To his credit, Todt - the former team boss at Ferrari - has been pushing new car technologies since he was named head of the FIA in October 2009, taking over from Max Mosley.

 

His vision: use the global reach of F1 to generate enthusiasm for green energy not only on race tracks, but especially on our streets and highways.

 

"I feel sometimes the motorsport community has not yet completely understood that the times are changing," Todt told Reuters in October.

 

"If you are looking at what is happening at the Paris mo-tor show, there are a lot of electric, hybrid, hydrogen cars and I really feel that racing must be a display for all those technologies."

 

Trouble is, motor racing has always been more about improving performance than efficiency. So it's been a tough sell for Todt, who did not make the trip to Montreal this weekend.

 

True, F1 teams have embraced kinetic energy recovery systems this year. But that's the point: The hybrid devices aren't a drag on performance; they give drivers an extra boost of power at the push of a button.

 

On the other hand, a plan to reduce the size of F1 engines in 2013 - from the current 2.4-litre V8s to four-cylinder, 1.6-litre turbocharged units - has been met with more resistance.

 

F1 ringleader Bernie Ecclestone called the proposed change "a joke", saying the smaller power plants won't sound the same to racing fans who equate screaming engines with the cello.

 

Never mind that the proposed switchover is part of a bigger goal to reduce F1 fuel consumption by 35 per cent.

 

At first, Todt insisted the new engine rules were set in stone. Last week, though, the FIA left the door open to a delay in the face of mounting concerns about the cost of such a drastic overhaul.

 

In the meantime, a new category of Grand Prix racing featuring electric cars might be just the ticket to foster excitement for a move toward greener technology.

 

Coincidentally - or not - Todt says he'd like to see the energy-friendly series up and running as early as 2013.

 

Now why didn't I think of that.

 

walterb@ montrealgazette.com

 

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/Montreal+Grand+Prix+2011+Time+look+future+racing/4929995/story.html#ixzz1Ozdz9nrK

 

http://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/reader-comments/Montreal+Grand+Prix+2011+Time+look+future+racing/4929995/story.html

[mtlurb]

C'est ici

[video=youtube;K-4THnOdk3I]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=K-4THnOdk3I

[IluvMTL]

http://www.journalmetro.com/linfo/article/943236--des-nissan-electriques-pour-communauto

 

MÉTRO

Publié: 15 août 2011 09:31

 

 

 

Communauto inclue désormais unr quinzaine de voitures électriques dans sa flotte de véhicules.

 

L’entreprise spécialisée dans l’autopartage dévoile aujourd’hui les détails de ses deux projets implantés à Québec et Montréal. Les voitures déployées seront des Nissan Leaf. Début 2012, le parc automobile de Communauto comptera une cinquantaine de Leaf.

 

Parmi les partenaires, on retrouve Hydro-Québec qui en profitera notamment pour tester le bilan énergétique des véhicules et le gouvernement qui offre des subventions à l’achat jusqu’à 10 000$ par véhicule. Les villes de Québec et Montréal, ainsi que la Société Parc-Auto du Québec qui gère une quarantaine de parcs de stationnement dans ces deux villes, sont aussi parties prenantes du projet.

 

Plus de détails à venir.

[Fortier]

Je ne comprends pas pourquoi Hydro-Québec ne met pas son savoir et ses technologies de l'avant pour le lancer dans les voitures électriques... Ils pourraient s'associer avec Bombardier ou SNC-Lavalin et devenir un géant de l'automobile dans l'avenir, j'en suis convaincu.