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This is the first time Honda has committed to a firm timeline for rolling out electric vehicles. The company has taken a relatively conservative stance on plug-in vehicles since it stopped selling the electric Honda EV Plus over a decade ago.

The company, whose current lineup includes the Insight and CR-Z “mild” hybrid models, also plans to introduce multiple mild hybrids in Japan within a year — starting with the Fit Hybrid in the fall. (Mild hybrids are gas-electric cars that have a small, high-voltage battery pack and electric motor sharing the load with an internal combustion engine. This allows for a downsized engine, but unlike “full” hybrids such as the Prius, mild hybrids typically don’t have a pure-electric mode.) Ito also pulled back the curtain today on battery plans for the Civic Hybrid, revealing that the next generation model will use a lithium-ion battery from Blue Energy, a year-old joint venture between Honda and GS Yuasa that’s scheduled to start producing the new battery at its plant this year.

For the two-wheeled set, the automaker said it’s still on track to introduce the EV-neo electric scooter in Japan in December, followed next year by a new electric bicycle in China (a market eyed by startups like Mission Motors and KLD Energy Technologies). Eventually Honda aims to sell electric motorcycles in “both advanced and emerging nations.”

In a time when competitors are racing to get plug-in cars like the Nissan LEAF and Chevy Volt on the market in 2010 and 2011, Honda has previously been conservative. Honda’s research and development chief told reporters as recently as May that “We lack confidence in the electric-vehicle business,” adding that while the automaker has been researching EVs, “It’s questionable whether consumers will accept the annoyances of limited driving range and having to spend time charging them.”

Today Ito reiterated those challenges, saying range per charge and recharging time are among the issues that still “need to be addressed.” And although he said Honda still believes that fuel-cell electric vehicles “will provide the ultimate mobility” in the long term, the automaker recognizes that “battery EVs have the potential to create a new market” as a form of mobility with no tailpipe emissions. According to Ito, “Honda will have no future unless we achieve a significant reduction of CO2 emissions.” Over the next decade, he’s hoping to see more widespread adoption of electric cars.

Photos courtesy of Honda

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The Evora hybrid is expected to look like this regular Evora sports car, which came out in September.

The Evora 414E Hybrid concept car is a plug-in hybrid version of Lotus’ currently available Evora (pictured above), which represented Lotus’ first new vehicle since 1995 when itstarted rolling out in Europe in September. The hybrid concept includes two EVOdrive motors, each providing 204 horsepower and 295 pounds of torque per foot, as well as EVO’s electric generator technology to help run a 35kW range extender system.

Jeremy Walker, a cleantech startup strategist and an advisor to EVO, called the deal “exceptionally important” for the startup. The deal could potentially lead to a commercial partnership if Lotus decides to commercialize a range-extended electric vehicle like the Evora hybrid, he said. “More importantly, it will make the rest of the hybrid powertrain engineering world sit up and take notice. Lotus has a global reputation for being some of the finest automotive engineers on the planet, so their decisions on what technologies they include are watched closely. Other people follow where Lotus leads.”

EVO is a spinoff from Imperial College London, where Chief Technology Officer Michael Lamperth works as a lecturer in mechanical engineering. The startup is developing what’s called an axial flux motor, or a disc-based motor. Instead of the usual cylinder rotating in another cylinder, these motors consist of a disc rotating facing another disc. “It’s the best usage of space,” Lamperth said.

While the concept of an axial flux motor isn’t new, the technology previously hasn’t succeeded because it’s so powerful that past iterations have fallen apart, Walker said. New materials, a new design and different manufacturing processes fix that problem, Lamperth added. The result is a motor that EVO claims is smaller, lighter, more powerful and more cost-efficient than current electric motors.

The motor can essentially get more performance out of the batteries, a major advantage as batteries – including the limited electric range they enable and their high price – have been a major sticking point for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. “There has been a lot of focus on batteries, but drive systems are almost as big a market” and haven’t been getting the same attention, Walker said.

A vehicle that can travel 80 miles on a single charge today would be able to drive 100 miles with EVO motors, Lamperth claims. And that’s for a cost expected to be at least 40 percent lower than current motors, in mass production, because the motors use at least 40 percent less material, he added. Price has been a critical challenge for plug-in hybrid and electric cars, which is why the first such vehicles have been high-end sports cars, such as the Tesla Roadster.

Aside from plug-in hybrids, EVO plans to target electric vehicles and regular hybrids. But the company expects to start with plug-in hybrids, which it expects will hit the market in about two years, because – considering the long development cycle for vehicles – manufacturers are evaluating motor providers for those vehicles now, Lamperth said.

EVO is in small-volume manufacturing now, making motors on its own in “fives and tens,” and already is seeing revenues from demonstration and beta vehicles and from the retrofit market, Lamperth said. It plans to partner with automotive suppliers for mass production and already is in talks with other potential partners, he added.

The company, which already has raised $5 million from Imperial Innovations, the venture arm of Imperial College, and angel investors, is now seeking a second round of about $10 million. While it has commitments from existing investors, it really hopes to attract a U.S. venture capitalist to help it target the U.S. market as well, Lamperth said, adding EVO plans to close its funding by summer.

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But now, it looks like these competitors are coming together. Volvo Car Corp. announced Friday that it plans to bring a diesel plug-in hybrid to the market by 2012. The news comes after Peugeot earlier this month unveiled a diesel PHEV minicar that it plans to bring to the market next year, and BMW also showed off a sporty diesel PHEV concept car at the Frankfurt auto show. While companies have been tinkering with the concept for some time, it looks like diesel PHEVs are finally starting to gain some traction.

It’s an exciting idea. First of all, diesel fuel packs 10-20 percent more energy per gallon than gasoline, according to Fusel, a site that advocates running diesel engines on vegetable oil. That higher energy content, combined with some engine advantages, means modern diesel cars can get about 40 percent more miles per gallon than their gasoline counterparts, according to the site.

With that kind of diesel fuel economy, it means the new crop of clean diesels, such as the Volkswagen Jetta TDI, achieves similar fuel economy to hybrids like the Toyota Prius without a complex drivetrain, according to AutoblogGreen. On top of that, advocates say diesels are more fun to drive, because they deliver more torque. Perhaps the most important factor to consumers: diesels often cost less than hybrids. According to an Edmunds comparison earlier this year, the 2009 Jetta TDI cost $22,890, compared with $28,933 for the Prius. And plug-in hybrids are expected to cost even more.

But diesels also emit more particulates than gasoline, and while new technologies have enabled companies to meet strict U.S. standards for particulates, those technologies cost money. Diesels also have an image problem. In the United States, many people still think of diesel as the “loud, smoke-belching beast” they remember from the 1970s, as this Edmunds.com article puts it, even though they have changed dramatically.

A marriage of diesel and plug-in hybrid technology could produce a wonder child that brings out the best of both technologies, boosting fuel economies to their highest levels yet while avoiding the range issues of pure electric vehicles. An electric motor could help diesels easily meet even the strictest potential particulate standards being considered today, while a diesel engine could boost the fuel economy of a PHEV.

But some think that the match could also produce a monster. Adding the technologies together could result in an even more complex drivetrain that ends up being far more expensive than its worth. And it could still have trouble winning diesel converts in the United States. We’ll be waiting with our fingers crossed to see what automakers produce. What do you think?

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(via engadget)

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I bought it online since shipping and engraving are free. I lose the instant gratification of the Apple Store, but I gain the personalization of engraving. (Though I admit it was challenging to come up with an engraving because there’s a small limit on letters.) Shortly after ordering, I got a confirmation email saying it would ship in three to five business days. So far, so good, now all I can do is wait. But look what I received today: I think somebody goofed. I mean, it’s nice that Apple thought of me and all that, but I have a couple of issues with this email:

• “We hope you’re enjoying your iPod.” Well, no, I’m not. Because I don’t have it yet. In fact, unless you’re hiding something from me, you haven’t even shipped it yet.
• The picture is of an antiquated shuffle, not the shiny new one I ordered. I mean, the thing has the controls on it instead of using remote headphone controls. Remember back when we used to control these things that way? That was ages ago. You know, before the Enlightenment.
• The email makes no mention of the new shuffle at all.

Apple, you should get a note to the appropriate groups to have your canned email updated ASAP. And maybe not send it until you think the recipient actually has the item in question, OK? Oh, and maybe include a reference to the actual item that was purchased? Thanks anyway… I guess… Man, if they ship me that green one I’m gonna so go ballistic.

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This Innovation Heat Map crafted by McKinsey and the World Economic Forum maps innovation across the planet. Clearly Silicon Valley is in a class of its own and perhaps that is why others want to imitate its success. Paul Graham recently offered up a recipe to replicate Silicon Valley, but even with that I am not sure anyone can pull it off. Why? Because, there are so many intangibles that cannot be quantified and replicated outside of Silicon Valley.

Nowhere else on the planet you will find a grown man who is crazy enough to fund a web site that essentially shows cat videos and expects his investment to pay off big time. YouTube, anyone!? Nowhere but in Silicon Valley is it OK to fail. More importantly, nowhere on the planet can you actually find a place to think as “freely” as Silicon Valley. I speak from personal experience, and you might disagree. I think Silicon Valley is un-replicable.

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Tata Motors

Micro-hybrids are not true hybrid fuel systems, but Bosch says its technology can boost in-town fuel economy by up to 8 percent: Gasoline alone propels the vehicle, but the engine shuts down when it’s at rest. Electricity from the battery instantly restarts the engine when the driver hits the accelerator.

Two years ago, Bosch forecast that start-stop technology would appear in 1 out of every 5 cars by 2015. So far, BMW, Mini, Fiat, and Kia have come on board. While the system represents a relatively inexpensive add-on, it would add up to 6,000 rupee, or about $125 to the the price tag for the Nano — not insignificant for a car whose chief selling point is affordability. If Tata can ramp to the 100,000 annual production it originally envisioned for the Nano, the deal could be a good score for Bosch. Like Tata, the company has idled factories in recent months in response to slumping global demand.

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Joining Toyota and its benchmark Prius, Camry and Highlander hybrids at the party, along with Honda, maker of the Civic hybrid, Hyundai will be bringing a hybrid version of its popular Sonata sedan to the U.S. in 2010 — also the year that GM will bring its much anticipated Chevy Volt to market. The Hybrid Sonata and the Volt will also share something besides the year of their debutant ball; both will be packing lithium-ion battery technology.

Running vehicles on lithium-ion batteries is a big step, one that really throws down the gauntlet to Toyota’s industry-leading Prius and hybrid Camry and Highlander, all of which use nickel-metal hydride batteries (though the next-gen Prius is likely to have lithium-ion versions). Not that there’s anything wrong with nickel-metal hydride batteries, but lithium-ion technology has advantages, primarily that it’s lighter and charges more quickly.

Going with the Sonata is smart step for Hyundai. Sedans are the white bread of the automotive world. One of the negatives aspects of the Prius, for some, is its unconventional, space-age design. Going with a sedan will play to the brand’s strong suit by putting a cutting-edge hybrid powertrain in a nice, non-threatening package.

The prototype for the Sonata hybrid will debut in November, and John Krafcik, vice president for product development at Hyundai, told Reuters the car is expected launch “in the 2010 calendar year.” Car people will recognize the caveat here: Saying that a car will “launch in the 2010 calendar year” leaves some wiggle room for Hyundai, since they could roll out a 2011 model year car in 2010, even though it won’t make it to your local showrooms until 2011. There’s nothing shady going on — all manufacturers do it, especially where new models are concerned, and particularly if the new model will introduce any new technology (like, say, a lithium-ion battery and a hybrid drivetrain).

One of the downsides to the Sonata hybrid? “It’s not a plug-in,” Krafcik is reported as saying. That means the batteries will be charged, in part, by a gas engine, just like the Toyota Prius — but unlike GM’s highly anticipated Volt. Which makes for an interesting situation: The Sonata’s lithium-ion batteries will be supplied by Korean battery maker LG Chem, one of two battery maker that’s hoping to supply batteries for GM’s Volt.

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