Wisdom In Action

Showing posts with label Toyota. Show all posts

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Plug-in Cruise Ships, Toyota's Own Charger, EV Building Codes, EVs Get Rooted

Ships go Plug-in: The Port of Los Angeles has installed electric accessory power to supply three separate cruise lines. The port says it is the first worldwide to provide Alternative Maritime Power to three cruise lines. In the last few weeks, ships from Disney Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, and Norwegian Cruise Line have all used AMP Mobile technology, specifically designed for the port’s World Cruise Center. The system allows cruise ships at berth to plug into either 6.6 kilovolts (kV) or 11 kV electrical power distribution systems, instead of running their diesel engines.

Toyota's Very Own EV Charger: Toyota has announced that it will launch its own home electric car charger. While Toyota’s charger will work with non-Toyota cars, this definitely seems like a way for Toyota to sell its chargers to people buying the plug-in Prius. The Japanese manufacturer is hoping to sell 50,000 plug-in Prii (the now official plural of Prius) starting in 2012.

Cleaning Up Building Codes: The National Renewable Energy Laboratory yesterday published case studies of four locations that have crafted plans to encourage drivers to go electric. Rather than financial or technical hurdles, the biggest priority of these cities is updating the permitting process around home and public charging stations. Although it's not necessary, most plug-in electric-car owners are expected to have a dedicated charge port installed at their homes, which will work at 240 volts and cut charge time roughly in half. One of the concerns automakers and potential buyers have is long delays in getting these chargers installed since building codes don't always explicitly address them.One of the concerns automakers and potential buyers have is long delays in getting these chargers installed since building codes don't always explicitly address them.

Green Machines Getting Rooted: The Electric Drive Transportation Association describes itself as "the preeminent trade association representing battery, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell electric drive vehicles." Not just plug-in electric vehicles, which encompasses pure electric and plug-in hybrid. Hybrid electric vehicles and fuel-cell vehicles are included in the membership, which is very good to hear about. All of these routes are important to green machines taking root in the auto industry.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Questions About Toyota Technology

According to Green Car Advisor: "Toyota appears to be making good on its promise, delivered at the Los Angeles Auto Show last month, to develop solid-state battery technology for electric-drive vehicles. Successful development of such batteries would be a big deal as they can store more energy - for longer range between charges - and cost much less to produce than the lithium-ion batteries now considered state-of-the-art.... Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. President and CEO Jim Lentz said at the L.A. Auto Show that, in addition to an accelerated roll-out schedule for more conventional hybrids and the Prius plug-in hybrid electric, the company was working on solid-state battery advancements. The technology's in its infancy, though, and commercial production is still considered to be years away."

I've always wondered why Toyota has been resisting lithium ion batteries and staying with nickel metal hydrides for so long. And this delves into more questions I have: Why no pure electric vehicles in the product pipleline except for the RAV4 with Tesla? Why is the Prius Plug-in taking so long to come to market, and why does it only go 12 miles on battery alone?

Toyota takes its time adapting toward new technology and away from the habits under the hood of the award winning Prius. I do think that when Toyota brings solid-state battery technology to the market, it will be well made. And it probably helps explain why Toyota made the deal with Tesla Motors to build the RAV4 electric version together using the Tesla technology instead of doing it on their own. Doing it their own way is the normal Toyota modus operandi, so things are changing.