Here is very good news:  The U.S. Department of Energy will stop researching hydrogen fuel cells for cars.  Hydrogen fuel cells might be feasible if there were gigantic supplies of cheap wind and solar power available to make hydrogen.  It was never a near term concept.   In fact, when George Bush proposed a “moon shot” in transportation technology based on hydrogen, my take at the time was that it was being trotted out because of the desire of both Bush and some Detroit executives to defer the inevitable transition to …

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Stocks continue to recover from their panic bottoms of last November, many of them having doubled or more from then (case in point: General Electric).   All this seems very healthy to me given the lack of real world data indicating any sort of resumption in economic growth.  We get only data indicating a slowing in the rate of decline.  On top of that, we know there are more shocks to come:  huge default rates in loans on commercial real estate which lags the economy, the likely bankruptcy of both Chrysler …

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I’m scratching my head over $50 oil in the face of unprecedented levels of inventory both on land and at sea and with ample spare capacity of “underground inventory.”   Talk about speculative influence - speculation seems to be the only explanation for why oil is not, say, $35.  Speculators in oil futures are betting on an economic bottom begetting a recovery begetting greater oil demand.  Along with limited expansion capacity due to reduced investments in oil production and high rates of decline for older wells. Of course all that …

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The first press report of a Chevy Volt test drive,  has been published here.  The Volt is America’s first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.  What stood out in my mind was the very positive performance review in terms of power, acceleration, and the low center of gravity.  As I recently wrote, the surprising virtue of the new PHEV’s will be great performance.  The other advantage of the PHEV, as this report mentions, is that some drivers may not need to buy any gasoline.  That could save $1,000 a …

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I’m very enthusiastic about the potential for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV’s) to provide a big piece of the ultimate solution to America’s “oil addiction” problem.  The PHEV will have an extended-range all-electric capability and a small gasoline engine that will re-charge the battery when it begins to run low, thus providing ample total range on a tank of gas.  

A PHEV with a 20 mile electric-only range will allow many drivers do all their normal daily chores while using only minimal gasoline, if any - thus getting virtually …

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The first available plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are hitting the road and turning people on.  The report below from Hawaii, a particularly oil-price-sensitive state (because importing oil is expensive), says that driving a PHEV is a huge turn-on for some people.  They are driving a modified Prius that uses technology similar to what will power GM’s Volt scheduled for introduction in 2010.  Unwilling to wait, people are modifying hybrids to make them plug-ins.  The car in this report runs on its battery alone up to about 35 …

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I’ve followed the progress of Better Place with great interest because it is the most radical and comprehensive attempt to solve the Peak Oil problem.   As I’ve written before, the plan, which has snagged Israel, Denmark, and Australia as customers, includes all-electric vehicles, a massive public and private re-charging infrastructure, and government assisted renewable electricity generation facilities, usually solar and/or wind.   The basic idea is that consumers will purchase a certain number of all-electric miles per month, much as they now purchase cell phone minutes.  The company …

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Here’s some really interesting reporting from the Wall Street Journal.  It turns out the electric utilities are starting to salivate, as well they should, at the prospect of plug in hybrid electric cars - which we know must be a key part of the ultimate solution to an eventual oil shortage.   And guess what the electric utilities have that almost no other group has these days?   A lot of money.  The report follows: Hey, Auto Industry, Need a Jump? Utilities Consider Buying Electric Cars By …

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As the global economy heads into terra incognita and the stock market tries to prove it has seen the worst my thoughts, for whatever they are worth, are: 1. Some economic observers such as John Thane, the CEO of Merrill Lynch, and JC Penney’s CEO Mike Ullman are saying the current economy is comparable with the Great Depression.   We need fiscal stimulus (since we’re nearly out of gas in terms of monitory stimulation potential).  How much?  If we’re going into a depression the quantity of fiscal stimulus needed …

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Here is a detailed discussion of battery technology economics, history and outlook by someone with a valid and informed viewpoint.  He concludes that lithium ion batteries may not be powering cars for a long time.   I tend to agree with that, particularly in view of the impacts of the current economic downturn.  He likes lead acid batteries better.  I think the more likely near term winner will be the current nickel hybrid batteries (NiMH) that are in hybrids on the market now and …

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The car business is being wrenched into its future by forces beyond its control.  One force is the destruction of demand for its current product offerings because of the bursting of the credit and housing bubbles combined with consumers’ knowledge that rapid technological developments are on the horizon.   This potent combination means consumers who do not absolutely need a new car (the vast plurality of all OECD consumers) don’t need to consider buying one.  Their disposable income and feelings of being wealthy have both been cut off at the knees.  …

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A summary of Australia’s decision to embrace the future of the electric car as a matter of state policy, an  important step toward substituting electricity for oil,  is posted below.  The report originated on The Oil Drum and the complete report is here: Project Better Place founder Shai Agassi was in town last week announcing that Australia will become the third country, following Denmark and Israel, to implement the group’s vision of electric vehicles powered by renewable energy. Better Place and Macquarie Capital …

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Will the world run short of lithium as electric and electric-assisted cars use li-ion batteries?  That is the speculation debated in the article posted below:  October 31, 2008 4:00 AM PDT Electric-car race could strain lithium battery supply Posted by Martin LaMonica 40 comments The headlong rush to create electric cars for green-minded consumers may come with a significant economic and environmental cost. Lithium ion batteries–the same used in electronic gadgets and laptops–have become the preferred battery type for plug-in hybrids and …

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Australia plans electric vehicle network     October 23 2008 at 01:30PM Melbourne - A United States firm on Thursday unveiled plans to build a massive $667-million (about R7,6-billion) charging network to power electric cars in Australia as it seeks cleaner and cheaper options to petrol.Better Place, which has built plug-in stations for electric vehicles in Israel and Denmark, has joined forces with Australian power company AGL and finance group Macquarie Capital to create an Australian network.Under the agreement, Macquarie will raise one billion Australian dollars to build …

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As I’ve noted previously, there is a potentially disruptive battery technology known as an ultracapcitor that is being developed by a rather secretive but apparently well financed company called EEStor in Texas.   It would store and then generate enormous quantities power compared with existing batteries, be capable of re-charging very rapidly, and hold a virtually infinite number of recharges.  If it sounds like science fiction, well … maybe it is.  There are a lot of sceptics.   On the other hand, if you’d described a digital camera to someone …

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