Stanford University researchers this week announced they have designed a road-based, high-efficiency wireless charging system for electric vehicles. In theory, the system could help create a network of all-electric highways that charge electric cars and trucks while they drive, reduce the need for point-specific charging infrastructure, and eliminate range anxiety. The power transfer system is based on a technology called magnetic resonance coupling. This technology creates a magnetic field between the road and vehicle to transfer electric currents to the vehicle’s battery. Copper coils, placed under the road surface at regular intervals, are tuned to resonate at the same frequency. When an electric current is introduced, it creates a magnetic field between the coils that can then transfer energy to a receiving coil in passing electric vehicles. Can it work? While the theory may sound far-fetched, it was demonstrated ...

Here’s yet another fun little car that could be on the roads within a few years. As one commenter here on CleanTechnica aptly noted recently, we could make huge strides in fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions simply by reducing the size and weight of our vehicles. Hope to see cars like this one below becoming more and more common soon.   All Hail Hiriko: MIT EV Concept Slated for Production in 2013 (via Gas 2.0) Related posts: EADS Announces VoltAir Electric Airline Concept Toray’s Green Sports Car Is Invitation For Collaboration Nanomaterial Being Produced By the Ton...

Catching up on a number of clean transportation stories we haven’t been able to cover, here are quick summaries of 10 recent stories. The first 6 concern EVs and hybrid-electric vehicles. The following 4 concern trains and transit. Electric Vehicles & Hybrids 1. Tesla Model X Electric SUV to be Unveiled on February 9. Gigaom, interviewing Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, found out that Tesla would be unveiling its all-electric SUV, the Model X, in less than one month. 2. Mitsubishi Selling and Servicing Electric Cars at All of Its UK Franchises. Mitsubishi recently announced that it was creating “the UK’s largest dealer network for electric cars,” according to Business Green. “[A]ll of its franchised dealers will become fully functioning Mitsubishi Electric Vehicle Centres from this month and by the end of March each will have two trained EV sales personnel as well as aftersales technicians.” ...

  Charis touched on the unequal expectations for and criticisms of electric vehicles (EVs) compared to gasoline-powered vehicles in her post on why EVs are awesome the other day. Over on sister site Gas2, Andrew Meggison gets into that topic a lot more in this repost below. Check it out (& share with your friends… we’ve got a lot of unbalanced press to combat):   Different Standards For Gasoline-Powered Cars Vs. EV’s? (via Gas 2.0) Related posts: Electric First, Gasoline Later – Honda’s New Green Sports Car Why Electric Cars Are Awesome Solar-Powered Air Conditioning for Cars ...

  Most of you reading this are already inclined toward green-type technology, whether that’s clean power generation, electric transportation, or more efficient ways to do things. Today, I’m going to give you one more reason to stop supporting – or at least vocally dislike – big gas and big oil. Yes, We’ve All Heard About This There are a number of people who will happily speak at length about dependence on foreign oil and how it leads to American troops being sent over to oil-rich hotspots to make sure we can still get affordable gas at the pump. There was a pun a while back about how Operation: Iraqi Freedom should have been called Operation: Iraqi Liberation (or O.I.L.), for example. I’m not really one of those people, but I listen when they talk. Oil is not cheap; from the ...

 

OK, I’m doing my top 10 list now. Following up on AWEA’s top 10 wind energy stories and SEIA’s top 10 solar energy stories, I decided I may as well give my own opinion on the top 10 clean energy stories and energy efficiency stories of 2011 (plus one bonus story). There will be some overlap, of course.

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1. 40% drop in cost of solar. This tremendous drop in the cost of solar was, to say the least, massively influential. It helped tons of people and businesses to go solar for less, increased work for numerous solar installers, and helped to put some companies out of business who were working on alternatives to traditional solar PV. The full ramifications are still unclear, but recent reports have shown that ...

Rare earth minerals may be the most important, let least understood factor in America’s transition to a low-carbon, clean-tech future. They’re essential to virtually every source of renewable energy and consumer technology we use today.

But China dominates worldwide rare earth supplies and production, and their monopoly could corner the world economy. energyNOW! chief correspondent Tyler Suiters explores how U.S. dependence on China’s rare earths could affect our energy future and high-tech lifestyles. The full video is available below:

Americans are used to seeing the words “Made in China” on most things we buy, but could they soon also read “Mined in China?” The nation controls 97 percent of global production of the elements we rely upon in every aspect of modern life. Consider the technologies requiring rare earths: ...

Move over Michigan, California may be U.S. car central of the future.

California “took in $467 million in global EV venture capital (VC) investment (69 percent of total dollars) in the first half of 2011″ and generated the same number of EV patents as Michigan from 2008-2010, according to a new report.

“California is fast becoming the world’s advanced car capital—our entrepreneurs, savvy consumers, research institutions and our market-driving policies are creating a perfect storm for continued growth,” said F. Noel Perry, businessman and founder of Next 10, the organization that created the report on this. More info available in the report, Powering Innovation: California is Leading the Shift to Electric Vehicles from R&D to Early Adoption, or via the link above. More key findings summarized here (from the link above):

California is a global ...

I wrote about a bullet-proof electric luxury vehicle that includes solar panels that Latvian armored car company Dartz is working on just about one month ago here on CleanTechnica. When I first read about it, I wondered if it was actually legit, not having heard of Dartz before and not finding much info on the car. Well, it looks like it is legit (at least the idea). Here’s more from sister site Gas2:

VIDEO: Dartz Reveals Bulletproof Electric “Jo-Mojo” Roadster (via Gas 2.0)

 

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Combining Solar Power and Your Electric Vehicle — Too Practical to Pass Up (Reader Comment)...

October 23, 2012 8:00 am

to

October 26, 2012 6:00 pm

Electric Mobility Canada and Hydro-Québec are pleased to welcome you to Montréal for the EV 2012 VÉ Electric Vehicles Conference and Trade Show.

The 2012 edition of the conference will highlight new business opportunities for various types of electric transportation. In 2011 and 2012, we saw many models of electric vehicles come on the market and the deployment of public charging infrastructure. We are now firmly committed to a new era of possibilities that, until now, seemed futuristic.

The Conference will underscore the efforts made by car manufacturers, suppliers, electric utilities and governments to make electric transportation a reality. We will discuss technological breakthroughs, business perspectives and the priorities of this industry, which plays an essential role in sustainable development.

With our solid program offering and thanks to the unique charm of Montréal and Québec, we are confident that your participation to this conference …