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| CHARGING AND FUELING |
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Clean Car Maps |
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Clean Car Maps is a resource for finding clean fuel stations in your area. |
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DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center |
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DOE's database provides maps to refueling stations in the US for CNG, LPG/propane, ethanol, electric, biodiesel, hydrogen, and liquefied natural gas (LNG). |
| CLEAN CAR BUYER GUIDES |
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DOE and U.S. EPA Fuel Economy Database |
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Compare vehicles of a particular size or type for their fuel economy, estimated cost of fuel for a year, EPA’s air pollution score, and greenhouse gas emissions. |
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DOE Vehicle Buyers Guide |
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Clean Cities Vehicle Buyer's Guide gives information about alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles—including hybrid and neighborhood electric vehicles available today. |
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Greener Cars |
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This site has information about how to buy a greener car, and an extensive database of all current model year gasoline and other vehicles. |
| EDUCATION |
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Dr. Es Energy Lab |
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Rounds up the best web sites for children to learn about energy efficiency and renewable energy. |
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HyWeb |
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Hydrogen information system which contains information on hydrogen and fuel cells, along with a company and products database. |
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It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air |
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It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air is a unique public education and partnership-building initiative to help regional, state and community efforts to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution. |
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Planet Polluto |
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Planet Polluto is an educational game that teaches children about the causes and effects of pollution. |
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The Know Zone |
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An educational site for kids and teachers about the air we breathe, air pollution and how to keep the air clean and healthy.
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| ENERGY |
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| FACTS, FIGURES & RESOURCES |
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| FLEET INFORMATION |
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| GOVERNMENT ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION SITES |
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CEC Transportation Information |
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The CEC's Transportation Technology Office promotes many alternative transportation applications - from single passenger neighborhood electric vehicles to fuel cell cars. |
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Clean Cities |
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The U.S. Department of Energy's Clean Cities Program supports public-private partnerships that deploy alternative fuel vehicles and build supporting alternative fuel infrastructure. |
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DOE Advanced Vehicle Testing |
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The U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity works with government and commercial fleets and industry groups to support the testing and deployment of alternative fuel vehicles. |
| GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS |
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ARB ZEV Program |
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ARB regulation information to reduce emissions from mobile sources. |
| MISCELLANEOUS |
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ev Rental Cars |
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ev Rental is an environmental rental car company that provides the most technologically advanced environmental vehicles to the general public. |
| PUBLICATIONS & ONLINE NEWS |
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EV World |
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Online publication with news and information on advanced technologies using electric drive. |
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Fuel Cell Magazine |
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For technical and management professionals involved in developing and applying fuel cell technologies. |
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Fuel Cell Today |
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Portal for companies and individuals with and interest in the commercialization of fuel cells. Provides news, events listings, reviews and reports, discussion forums and industry directories. |
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H2CARSBIZ |
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Tells the hydrogen story and presents hydrogen powered cars in relation to visions of the hydrogen economy, the infrastructure, the markets and its players. |
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The Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Letter |
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A monthly newsletter for the international hydrogen and fuel cell communities, covering events and developments in this emerging field as they occur. |
| TRADE ORGANIZATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS & PARTNERSHIPS |
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California Fuel Cell Partnership |
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The CaFCP is a unique collaborative of auto manufacturers, energy companies, fuel cell technology companies, and government agencies. |
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Calstart Weststart |
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Calstart / Weststart provides news and information on electric, natural gas and hybrid electric vehicles, mobility systems and intelligent transportation systems. |
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Canadian Hydrogen Association |
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Nonprofit membership association composed of universities, research organizations, industry and small businesses. Develops the role of H2 energy for the purpose of improving the environment. |
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Electric Drive Transportation Association |
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EDTA is an international association representing the interest of those involved in battery, hybrid and fuel cell electric drive technologies and supporting infrastructure. |
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Fuel Cell Markets |
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Fuel Cell Markets Ltd. is a market catalyst for fuel cell and hydrogen industries. Advanced open industry communications platform designed to aid commercialization. |
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Fuel Cell Technology Showcase |
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From the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE International), a collection of the latest books, magazine articles, events and more on fuel cell energy and fuel cell vehicles. |
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National Biodiesel Association |
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The NBB is the national trade association representing the biodiesel industry as the coordinating body for research and development in the US. |
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National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition |
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The National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition is the nation’s primary advocate dedicated to the use of 85 percent ethanol as a form of alternative transportation fuel.
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National Fuel Cell Research Center |
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A component of the Advanced Power & Energy Program which oversees the UC Irvine Combustion Laboratory. Provides leadership within a vigorous program of research, development and demonstration. |
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National Hydrogen Association |
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The National Hydrogen Association (NHA) is leading the transition from a fossil fuel-based energy infrastructure to a hydrogen-based one. |
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Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition |
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The NGVC is a national organization dedicated to the development of a growing, sustainable and profitable market for vehicles powered by natural gas or hydrogen.
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NESEA - Greener Vehicles on the Market |
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The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) is a membership organization focused on promoting energy conservation and non-polluting, renewable energy technologies. |
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NGV Global |
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Provides news and information for the natural gas vehicle industry. |
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Renewable Fuels Association |
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The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has been working as the "Voice of the Ethanol Industry" since 1981 to secure a strong marketplace for ethanol.
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The Methanol Institute |
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The Methanol Institute's mission is to expand markets for the use of methanol as a chemical commodity building block, a hydrogen carrier for fuel cell applications, and an alternative fuel. |
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US Fuel Cell Council |
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The US Fuel Cell Council conducts a full range of technical, educational and outreach activities in support of the industry and its mission. |
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World Fuel Cell Council |
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A non-profit association to promote the most rapid commercialization of fuel cells. Members of the Council include companies involved in the development of fuel cells. Based in Germany. |
| VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS |
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Hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) combine the benefits of gasoline engines and electric motors and can be configured to obtain different objectives, such as improved fuel economy, increased power, or additional auxiliary power for electronic devices and power tools.
Some of the advanced technologies typically used by hybrids include
Regenerative Braking. The electric motor applies resistance to the drivetrain causing the wheels to slow down. In return, the energy from the wheels turns the motor, which functions as a generator, converting energy normally wasted during coasting and braking into electricity, which is stored in a battery until needed by the electric motor.
Electric Motor Drive/Assist. The electric motor provides additional power to assist the engine in accelerating, passing, or hill climbing. This allows a smaller, more efficient engine to be used. In some vehicles, the motor alone provides power for low-speed driving conditions where internal combustion engines are least efficient.
Automatic Start/Shutoff. Automatically shuts off the engine when the vehicle comes to a stop and restarts it when the accelerator is pressed. This prevents wasted energy from idling.
For fuel economy information on these vehicles, please visit the Compare Side-by-Side section.
A More Efficient Engine
A new type of engine could be relatively inexpensive.
By Kevin Bullis
A new version of the internal combustion engine, which could significantly cut gas consumption, might be surprisingly practical and easy to deploy, according to recent findings by researchers at MIT. Tests on a prototype based on the technology, which allows engines to switch between conventional technology and the new gas-saving type of combustion, show that it does not require a special fuel, and engines using the technology can be cheaply made out of conventional auto parts.
The gas-saving technology, called homogeneous charge compression ignition, or HCCI, uses a form of combustion that is much more efficient than conventional spark ignition. Under some conditions, it can reduce fuel consumption by 25 percent, says William Green, a professor of chemical engineering at MIT who was coauthor of the new study. That's very similar to the efficiency of a diesel engine, which also achieves combustion by compression rather than a spark. But unlike diesel engines, HCCI results in a more uniform combustion and is thus much cleaner. A system that combines HCCI with conventional combustion could improve fuel economy by a few miles per gallon on average, Green says.
Several research groups are working on the new type of combustion. Volvo, for example, has built a hybrid system that can switch between conventional spark ignition and HCCI. Some experts, however, had expected that the new type of engine would require special fuel.
The MIT research shows that an HCCI engine can operate with any of the varieties of gasoline sold in North America, making a special fuel unnecessary. The researchers tested a range of different gasolines made at different refineries. They found that the HCCI engine "was less sensitive to the fuel than people had feared," says Green.
While the HCCI has several performance limitations, these can be addressed using a hybrid approach, in which an engine could switch between HCCI and conventional spark ignition. Using already mass-produced parts could make it relatively inexpensive to build such a hybrid, Green says.
In conventional gasoline engines, a spark ignites a mixture of fuel and air in a combustion chamber, creating an explosion that drives a piston. While this happens very efficiently when the engine is working hard, it's less efficient at lower loads, such as during cruising, when less gasoline is being pumped into the combustion chamber. At these times, to keep the ratio of fuel to oxygen optimized, a partial vacuum is created in the chamber. It takes extra energy to make this vacuum, which decreases the engine's efficiency.
The HCCI technology avoids the use of an energy-wasting vacuum. Instead, hot gases from a previous combustion cycle remain in the chamber; the engine uses a combination of heat from these hot gases and heat generated by compressing the mixture to raise temperatures high enough that the mixture explodes.
But if the engine's temperature is too low, such as when it's being started or being operated under very low loads, the mixture doesn't get hot enough to combust. And at high loads, when the temperature is high, the mixture can combust too early, out of sync with the cycling of the engine, causing a potentially damaging phenomenon called knock. Differences in fuels can also affect precisely when the mixture combusts.
The hybrid system switches between the two forms of combustion. To do this requires changing the way the engine deals with combusted gases. During spark combustion, the gases are forced out through an open valve. In HCCI, the timing of the opening of that valve is changed so that it closes before the gases completely escape, trapping them inside.
John Heywood, a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT who was not involved with this work, says that HCCI could eventually provide even greater benefits as researchers find ways to adapt the engine so that they can use it for a wider range of loads. What's more, it could be used in combination with other gas-saving technologies already available on many vehicles. The extent to which HCCI can be combined with other approaches could determine how widely it's adopted, suggests Heywood. |