Toyota Makes Breakthrough in Biofuel Technology

By NANCY PARDO | Published: OCTOBER 17, 2011

Toyota continues to be committed to the green revolution, developing next-generation environment-friendly vehicles and pouring money into renewable energy research. Toyota may be one step closer to its goal to commercializing cellulosic ethanol by 2020 with its development of a new super-yeast used to produce cellulosic ethanol.

Yeast is used to ferment plant sugars in the biofuel production process, but naturally occurring yeasts don’t break down plant sugars very well. As a result cellulosic ethanol production is costly compared to its yields.

A study by the National Academies published earlier this month found that cellulosic ethanol is currently not a commercially sustainable alternative to petroleum. To make cellulosic ethanol more sustainable and cost-competitive, the study calls for more research to be done into increasing the conversion yield from biomass to fuels.

And this is exactly what Toyota is doing. Its super-yeast is very efficient at breaking down plant sugar and has a high resistance to acetic acid, which inhibits fermentation. According to Toyota, its new yeast has the highest ethanol fermentation density levels in the world—approximately 47 g/liter—and is expected to improve bio-fuel yield and significantly reduce production costs.

This appears to be a promising step on the road toward a truly sustainable energy solution. And because Toyota’s cellulosic ethanol production relies on non-editable plant sources—and not corn—it believes it will have less impact on world food supplies.

The National Academies study was critical of corn-based ethanol, stating that corn ethanol production can increase greenhouse gas emissions and result in other environmental pollutants. It seems less clear how the use of non-editable crops like switchgrass impact the environment and what the economic fall-out will be if and when cellulosic ethanol is produced on a commercial-scale.

What do you think? Is there a sustainable future in biofuel?

Deutsche Post DHL Fleet Goes Electric

By KLAUS WIEDEMANN | Published: OCTOBER 13, 2011

Deutsche Post DHL, the world’s leading logistics group, has commissioned German based StreetScooter to develop a new electric vehicle for its delivery fleet.

The new delivery vehicle will be based on the modular StreetScooter electric car platform, which was shown at theFrankfurt IAA 2011 auto show in September (watch the video). It’s part of Deutsche Post DHL’s global GoGreen initiative aimed at achieving a 30 percent improvement in CO₂ efficiency by the year 2020.

“Protecting the environment is one of the stated goals of Deutsche Post DHL,” says Jürgen Gerdes, board of management member responsible for mail at Deutsche Post DHL. “As operators of one of the largest vehicle fleets in Germany, we have a special interest in deploying vehicles with [zero] emissions that are economically efficient and can handle the daily stresses and strains of delivery work.”

The electric vehicle for Deutsche Post’s mail and parcel delivery service has to meet a number of very specific requirements. It must be able to handle up to 200 stops and start-up procedures and be in use 300 days a year. It has to have sufficient load capacity for mail and parcels. And it needs to have a robust set of equipment that meets all the safety requirements.

According to Deutsche Post DHL, electric vehicles currently available on the market do not meet all of these requirements, and they are too expensive. The joint development project with StreetScooter is expected to break these barriers: “We have sought competent partners in StreetScooter GmbH and selected institutes such as RWTH Aachen University in order to develop just such a custom vehicle for Deutsche Post, one that is designed to be produced at a competitive price,” Gerdes says.

Professor Achim Kampker, chair of production management at RWTH Aachen University and CEO of StreetScooter commented:

“From the outset, it has been StreetScooter’s objective to make electric mobility an economically viable alternative, with no compromise in terms of safety. We are achieving these objectives through what we call a ‘disruptive network approach’: Taking nothing for granted, we start from a clean sheet of paper, focusing on the specific requirements of electric cars. By leveraging our partners’ specialized know-how in an innovative network approach, we will be able to achieve our price and performance goals.”

The first phase of development for the vehicle will focus on a design that meets the specific requirements of Deutsche Post DHL. It is expected to be completed by early 2012, with the delivery of a number of prototypes for evaluation.

If all goes well, decisions about serial production of the vehicle will be made. Overall, Deutsche Post DHL expects that more than 3,500 vehicles will be needed for all its corporate divisions.

Chancellor Angela Merkel Visits International Auto Show

By KLAUS WIEDEMANN | Published: SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

At the StreetScooter booth, Mrs. Merkel was welcomed by Arndt Kirchhoff, CEO of KIRCHHOFF Automotive, one of the major partner companies of the StreetScooter network.

“As shareholders, we are proud to present a roadworthy vehicle after only 15 months of development time,” Kirchhoff said.

Professor Achim Kampker of RWTH Aachen University and CEO of StreetScooter GmbH, provided a firsthand explanation of the vehicle and its philosophy.

“The most remarkable aspect of StreetScooter is that it represents a radical cost innovation,” he said. “Our objective is to offer it for 5.000 Euros, excluding the battery, which will be offered in a leasing contract that provides guaranteed mobility.”

In other words, the driver will pay a monthly fee for the battery pack and in the case of a defect, it can be exchanged free of charge.

Mrs. Merkel was particularly interested in hearing about StreetScooter’s innovative solution for heating and air conditioning.

“For StreetScooter, we are using a heat pump which has an energy consumption of only 20% of a conventional system,” explained Kampker. Conventional air conditioning and heating is known to have negative effects on the autonomy of electric vehicles currently on the road.

With a smart phone based plug-in solution, StreetScooter also utilizes the latest in communication technology for infotainment, which resulted in a hilarious moment as Mrs. Merkel tried to access the vehicle’s battery status on the integrated touch pad – instead of the battery gauge, she selected the popular smart phone game “Angry Birds”. “If the driver should feel bored, he can also have fun with a game,” Kampker explained with a smile.

Mrs. Merkel seemed very impressed by the progress of the project, which is also a contribution to Germany’s objective to have 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2020.

“As we can see, within only two years, with the many new components already in place, something completely new has been achieved,” Mrs. Merkel said.

StreetScooter aims to make electric vehicles accessible to mass consumers. With a price tag of only 5,000 Euros, it’s hoped it will be an economic alternative for commuters in urban areas.

The startup company claims not to be a competition to incumbent auto manufacturers (OEMs). Kampker and his partners hope to provide a stimulus to accelerate technological progress and market adoption for electric vehicles in Germany, an economy in which the auto industry is of particular importance.

Test Drive for New Electric Car

By KLAUS WIEDEMANN | Published: SEPTEMBER 14, 2011

On Friday, September 2nd, after a total assembly time of eight weeks, the first StreetScooterprototype was completed, generating a great deal of excitement in the auto industry.

Although StreetScooter is not the only electric car being developed in Germany, it is keenly followed by media and industry because of its radically forward-looking and innovative approach to technology and manufacturing.

Assembly of the prototype began on July 3rd when the tubular steel frame for the first car was delivered to the StreetScooter workshop in Aachen, Germany. To avoid excessive tooling costs and to ensure maximum flexibility in creating variants for different purposes, the makers of StreetScooter chose to adopt a welded steel-frame construction covered by fiberglass body panels.

The steel frame was developed by three partners. The central part of the chassis used to house the battery pack comes from ThyssenKruppSteel Europe, Germany’s leading steel manufacturer. The front section—especially designed for the electric engine and cooling unit—was developed and designed by lightweight specialist Kirchhoff, and the rear part of the frame comes from Gedia, a specialist in lightweight-body steel parts such as engine sub-frames, roof and door frames, and bumper mountings. The welding of the three components was undertaken by Heggemann Autosport, a company that specializes in the assembly and preparation of racing prototypes.

When the welded and painted body structure arrived in the StreetScooter workshop in early July, a busy process of assembly, disassembly, modification and reassembly began. Mechanics mounted the electric motor and cooling unit. In an effort to cut down cost, front-wheel-drive transmission and steering standard parts were used from a conventional small car.

Once the major parts of the drive train and chassis were in place, body panels manufactured in Romania to StreetScooter’s specifications were fitted, along with the electrical harness for the high-voltage and low-voltage system, dashboard and specially designed lightweight seats.

A number of finishing touches were added to make sure everything fitted neatly together, but the StreetScooter team was able to immediately reconcile design modifications made during assembly.

After a total assembly time of approximately two months, on Friday September 2nd, the car was ready for the test track in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

StreetScooter will be presented to an international audience this week at the German International Auto Show IAA. According to insiders, a number of institutional customers who are looking for cheap and clean delivery and commute vehicles for inner city traffic are ready to sign contracts for delivery of several thousand StreetScooter vehicles.

The StreetScooter project aims to demonstrate that electrical vehicles can be produced at a competitive price in small batches by a network of supply-chain partners without the need for sustained government funding.

New Electric Car Offers a Sustainable Future

By KLAUS WIEDEMANN | Published: JUNE 20, 2011

In May 2011, the StreetScooter Consortium—headed by RWTH Aachen University in Germany—presented its forward-looking electric car concept to the public for the first time.

The StreetScooter project—which aims to demonstrate that electrical vehicles can be produced at a competitive price in small batches by a network of supply chain partners without the need for sustained government funding—was launched in December 2007 and is scheduled to roll out its first batch of 10 prototypes at the end of 2011.

The project could well become the holy grail for an automotive industry facing massive technological changes as internal combustion engines are gradually succeeded by alternative power units. And as many of the anticipated structural changes in the automobile industry are also on the agenda in other industries, aerospace and defense in particular, the project has far reaching implications.