The funding comes after a feasibility study conducted by the Department of Energy and Climate Change or UK DECC which granted release of funds worth $6.6 million. Other investments will come from Regional Development Agency One North East amounting to $4.1 million.

The plant will be built in Tees Valley in the United Kingdom where the INEOS Seal Sands is. The factory is expected to come up with 30 million liters of carbon-neutral fuel and produce electricity that will be for expert amounting to 3 MW from about 100,000 tons of commercial and household biodegradable wastes. This amount of fuel production can cover for the electricity demand of about 6,000 households and 250,000 vehicles running on E10 fuel.

The advanced factory is scheduled to for completion by 2012 pending certain final agreements. The project will also create 350 construction jobs and 40 permanent positions when the factory is operational. There are also plans to integrate a biorefinery plant and high technology waste treatment come 2015.

The technology used by INEOS combines biochemical and thermochemical processes to complete the process of biofuel production using industrial and household waste materials.

The sad fact is that vans are some of the worst polluters on the road and the manufacturers have made very little effort to change this situation. The primary reason that vans are bad for the environment is that there are currently no hybrids available. It is well established that hybrid technology is the best way that we currently have to improve fuel mileage. Better fuel mileage means less pollution. Unfortunately the manufacturers haven’t seen fit to put hybrid technology into the worst polluters, the vans.

This is especially odd since they have gone to great lengths to put hybrid technology into SUV’s. The reason that this is strange is that SUV’s and vans have the same chassis and usually the same drive train. It is really just the body that is different on an SUV. Yet for some reason you can get a wide variety of SUV’s with a hybrid and yet no vans are available. One would assume that the reason is that there is no demand for a hybrid van but this isn’t the case. Toyota do have a hybrid van called the Estima but it is only available in Japan. However there is a petition going around to press Toyota to make the Estima available in the US.

After the Estima the least polluting option would be the Ford S-max, which runs on a diesel engine, unfortunately this isn’t available in the United States either. This is easier to explain than the Estima’s unavailability. The simple fact is that there has always been a limited demand for diesels in the US. The S-max was built specifically to be sold in Europe where diesels are much more common and widely accepted.

The best option currently available in US is the Mercedes-Dodge Sprinter. This is especially odd because it is also the larges van available. One would assume a mini van would be the best option but that isn’t the case. The Sprinter was designed to be a delivery van in which saving fuel was important to keep the delivery company profitable. However the Sprinter has started to become very popular with other users because it is so fuel efficient.

After these there aren’t really any good options available. As far as the mini vans which make up the vast majority of the van market go, they are all about the same when it comes to fuel efficiency and pollution. Hopefully at some point that situation will change but for now there is simply no environmentally friendly van available.

The researchers are collaborating with LG Chem in developing a silicon anode that can absorb more lithium during charging which in effect will increase its storage capacity. The batteries using these nanotubules are expected to hit the market in three years time.

The knowledge about silicon anodes having this property has been known for quite a while but they are improving on the technology to avoid faulty developments before which led to cracks on the lithium ion batteries when charged. The new design provides better spacing for the ions to interact resulting to less mechanical strain.

On another development, experts from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found out that we can use Titanium Oxide, a rare earth metal which can make current lithium ion batteries perform better. The titanium oxide can not do it on its own so it was used with grapheme, a lattice of carbon components first discovered in 2004.

Graphene has been used in integrated circuits and other electronic components because of its high flexibility and conductivity. It is also less prone to extreme heat up compared to other carbon based components.

The grapheme in tandem with titanium oxide can help lower the prices of lithium ion batteries used for electric vehicles and hybrids.

The batteries have yet to be demonstrated to the public but EEStor promises that it will present the laboratory certification and produce a unit so the public can see this month. The information about the research has been tightly sealed with insiders for almost a decade now.

The barium-based EESUs are said to have better power density and energy than the lithium ion batteries we know today. They are also cheaper to make and has lifetime functionality as claimed.

On the other side of the story, the proposal of ZENN Motors was coursed to the U.S. DOE through Zenn America, a subsidiary of the Canadian company. A multi-million dollar funding is being sought for to support research efforts and construction of a development facility for small electric cars.

Law makers are set to meet with representatives from Zenn and see the feasibility of the request submitted to DOE. They seem to be interested with the details of the technology being developed and how it will impact the industry, and how it will help Americans who are in need of employment.

The department may reach a decision by the end of September following the release of lab certification for the EESU technology.

Ford will get a bigger chunk of $5.9 billion from the fund. Nissan will be able to use $1.6 billion while Tesla has a share of $465 million.

DOE spent about 8 months sitting on the funds while deliberating which companies will make good use of the money approved for release by the Bush administration.

The car manufacturers who got the loan will be able to go full efforts on their hybrid and EV programs. Despite Ford and Nissan getting the bigger chunk, experts say that Tesla benefits most of the program. Tesla will be able to construct a new plant to help in the assembly of their Sedan Model S which is projected to be a big seller.

Ford is not on the losing end though. A recent study by car experts foresees that the Detroit big three will gain if they can improve the fuel mileage of their range of vehicles. If they will be able to improve their current 26.9mpg average to meet the mandated 35mpg, a profit of $2.9 billion can be raked in.

Ford is planning to invest about $14 billion to advance their car technology in the next seven years. Some of the funds will be used to retool their factories and help in the production of more fuel efficient cars.

Nissan is focused on developing zero emission vehicles and expand their Smyrna assembly line.

The idea dates back to 2005 from MIT experts who suggested the use of E85 boosting to take advantage of the properties of ethanol and other alcohols with similar composition. Ethanol has excellent evaporative cooling effects when it interplays in the fuel air mixture when it enters the cylinder.

The concept will require a vehicle to have two fuel tanks and of course acceptance of the owner for a dual fueling concept.

The E85 concept resulting to suppressed knock can allow compression ratios to be increased and may permit higher boost for turbo or super charged engines. The technology will ultimately lead to downsizing of engines without sacrificing the performance of the vehicle.

The team from MIT developed an ethanol boosting system to commercialize their idea in 2006. They are now collaborating with the research and development team of Ford.

The use of the E85 boosting system with the gasoline PFI will make car owners and consumers realize that gasoline can be used more efficiently with their cars as gasoline is the fuel primarily used in most vehicle models.

Conclusions of the study established that the concept can hold water as a more cost efficient biodiesel alternative. Construction of an engine using the technology will also be a lot less than building a diesel engine. This engine will also be able to pass strict emission guidelines because of the high efficiency in terms of conversion of the fuel into energy.

The invention was spearheaded by MIT senior Shakeel Avadhany. Aside from the power regeneration features, these shock absorbers are also reported to perform better than conventional shocks.

The prototype for this invention is powered by a hydraulic system that pushes fuel up a turbine connected to a generator. This system is electronically controlled, making the ride smoother while generating enough power to recharge the mechanism’s batteries.

Meanwhile, Boston-based Electric Truck LLC has claimed commercial rights to a similar regenerative power chock absorber. Electric Truck LLC’s mechanism, unlike the MIT invention, runs on electro-magnetic charge.

This was developed and engineered by Tufts professor emeritus Ronald Goldner, with his colleague Peter Zerigian. The project was under Tufts School of Engineering, funded by Argonne National Library.

The MIT student found that their device could generate up to 1kW per shock absorber on a 6-shock heavy truck running on a standard road. This power, according to the study, can displace the large alternator, and sometimes even run accessory devices like hybrid refrigerators that are found in most trailers.

One of the test vehicles in this experiment was lent by AM General, a motoring company interested in the technology. AM General filed for a patent late last year, forming a company called the Levant Power Corp. This team will spearhead the production of the commercialized version of this device, to be dubbed GenShock.

The ARRA 2009 is presented into three parts. First, there is an allocated $1.5 billion for manufacturers in the US to let them create components and batteries. Second, to help manufacturers produce components like the electric motors, a fund of $500 million is reserved for them. And lastly, for evaluation and demonstration of plug-in hybrids and other electric enhancements, the act gave them $400 million. These electric enhancements are comprised of electric rails, charging stations and trainings for the technicians for the creation of the electric vehicles.

The declaration of the funding for US car manufacturers was the highlight of President Obama’s speech that is focused on energy and on the economy. His Excellency pointed out the must to find revitalized resources for electricity and to gain little dependency on imported oils.

This funding will not only help the creation of more electric and efficient vehicles, but also, it will open vast opportunities for the unemployed. This is an initiative to produce tens of thousand jobs in the United States. This will also give way to the Americans who will patronize these vehicles a claim on their tax credit for up to $7,500.

Three engines are set to be developed by the company in lieu of this technology: the DD13, the DD15, and the DD16 which are still yet to be introduced into the market. The Blutech technology includes emission filtering technologies already present in today’s engines, including Diesel Paticulate Filter, Diesel Oxidation Catalyst, and Exhaust Gas Recirculation.

All three SCR (selective catalytic reduction) systems are designed to meet the EPA standards of 2010. Because these EPA standards also require the operators to fill their vehicles with DEF, Detroit Diesel is including components like the DEF tank, doser, guage, SCR catalyst and aftertreatment control module into their systems.

DEF (diesel exhaust fuel) is made up of 66.7% water and 33.3% automotive-grade urea. This fuel reacts against smog forming gases, reducing the NOx levels emitted by the vehicle. Although the Blutech technology is designed to be more environmentally conscious, it doesn’t ditch the current base engines of Detroit Diesel altogether.

The company is only working to improve their already existing base engines. Aside from the reduced NOx levels emitted by Bluetec engines, these engines are also designed to save more fuel. A significant 5% improvement in fuel efficiency has been recorded during the dry-runs of these Bluetec engines.

The province of Ontario is one of the biggest car producing region in North America. The vehicle manufacturing sector wants to start a transition to increasing roll out of electric vehicles and lower greenhouse gas production.

The Ontario government and its people is aiming to reform their system to give way to more environment friendly cars and propel the province as prime mover for economic growth and saving the environment.

The Better Place deal will help Canadians switch from a Car 1.0 focused on the combustion engines to the new Car 2.0 which runs on renewable energy.

The company will put up a head office in Ontario and construct a center to help in the awareness and education drive for electric vehicles in Toronto.

Ontario promised to conduct a comprehensive study on how to speed up the adoption to electric vehicles. The deadline for this study is May of 2009. Both parties will also do a pilot study on how to build a charging network for the electric cars.

The move of Better Place and the Ontario government helps in keeping the position of the province as a major player in the North American automotive industry and at the same time giving everyone the idea that the sector is thinking and planning well for the future.