Algae Biodiesel

This is a really exciting story about the most incredible ENERGY coming on the market, OIL from ALGAE. What makes this so exciting is it is not about a fuel that is five years, or ten years, or even fifteen years down the road. Suneco Energy is presenting their technology and end product Right Now!!!

Algae Power Video!


CHINO, CA - July 29, 2009: J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. and SunEco Energy today announced the signing of a cooperative agreement, which could lead to J.B. Hunt becoming a significant purchaser of biodiesel made from natural algae oil using SunEco Energy's proprietary technology.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLdD5ek22ns

Gary Whicker , Senior Vice President of engineering for J.B.Hunt states: " At this time Transportation fuel is virtually 100% oil-based," "Finding other energy sources to put in our fuel tanks is good business for our company and our nation. SunEco's innovative process to produce renewable fuel supplies from algae grown in American ponds is an intriguing new option. Our initial experience with their algae-based biodiesel is promising, and we are excited about the opportunity to work with SunEco Energy to move towards a lower cost, less carbon intensive, and more secure fuel supply for our business."

Dan Gautschi, Chairman and CEO of SunEco Energy states: “ We are very pleased that J.B. Hunt, a leading transportation company, took the steps to test our fuel in their trucks and are taking further steps to become a leader in the use of renewable fuels, The SunEco technology has been in development for over five years, with an operating pilot facility Over the past two years which has allowed us to continually produce barrels of oil rather than beakers, enabling us to provide oil for tests in a variety of applications."

SunEco's utilizes naturally occurring algae strains in a monitored setting to produce an oil product suitable for making renewable transportation fuels (biodiesel) and other oil-based products. One of the products is a high-quality animal feed supplement. SunEco is currently trying to raise additional funding to enable the large scale deployment of the technology in U.S. and international markets, including a large development in the Imperial Valley region of California.

SunEco's Algae Conversion Video


SunEco Energy is committed to leading the deployment of commercially viable bio-products made from natural algae strains. The Company's primary objective is to deliver reliable clean biodiesel products for transportation fuels and also livestock feeds, thus ending the trade-off between food and or fuel. Soon the company intends to expand its product range to include a full scope of products currently obtained from petroleum, such as, plastics and dyes, and inks as well as nutri-ceuticals.


SunEco’s in-depth understanding of the microalgae organism, and particularly how it behaves under certain conditions, allows the company to utilize naturally occurring algal species, without genetic modification, to produce and retain lipids which are basic building blocks needed to harvested oil. Rather than modify the algae, SunEco is able to modify the algal environment to cause the organism to behave in the desired manner – namely the production and retention of lipids, or fats, used to make oil.


At this time SunEco has a large Advantage, in time and in Scale. SunEco has gone through 18 pilot test harvests. This gave the company time to enhance and improve its process, also unlike other companies who have beakers of biodiesel. SunEco has barrels of the biodiesel, to test in numerous applications including some very successful on-road tests with a large interstate trucking company (J.B.Hunt).


Oil production sets SunEco apart today, and will continue to let SunEco outdistance the competition in the years ahead as they scale up production facilities to produce large quantities of high quality renewable biodiesel. The SunEco process was designed with scale in mind. Using naturally occurring algal strains, SunEco can utilize large open ponds for the growth medium. The SunEco process equipment has been designed to economically handle large volumes of alginated water. The large scale and high productivity of the process allows SunEco to produce at a very competitive unit rate.


SunEco Energy is now fully engaged in a large scale deployment of the technology in the Imperial Valley region of Southern California. The Company has acquired a large fish farm in the region which is being converted to a large algae harvesting and processing facility once all necessary approvals have been obtained. SunEco will undergo a dramatic growth phase as we move to become the leading supplier of renewable and sustainable algae based bioproducts.

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 Largest selection and lowest prices of generator transfer switches. We sell ASCO, GE Zenith, Generator Joe, Generac, Winco, Onan, Reliance Controls, ESCO and others. 






New & Used Cars

New and used cars including offers on popular UK vehicle makes such as:
Ford, BMW, Vauxhall, Renault and Peugeot.

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Top Electric Cars - Part II

• Fisker Karma

The Fisker Karma is a sporty looking, car that has the power to back up its looks. The Fisker comes with a Q-drive Technology. It has an innovative gas/ electric motor combination. In a way it is a hybrid, the electric motors (2) are the only mechanical drive to the wheels. The gas motor is mated with a generator that feed the batteries only if the batteries need to be recharged. The batteries have a range of 50 or so miles then the gas motor/generator comes on giving the Fisker a range of 300 miles, At a 100 miles per gallon U.S. The Fisker has a top end speed of 125 miles per hour, zero to 60 in 5.8 sec.. The twin electric motors produce 200+ Horse Power at 960 ft-lbf torque. The model shown at the car show was a convertible, with a folding hard top.

• Nissan Leaf

The Nissan Leaf

The EV-11 (Leaf) uses an all electric drive train, the motor is 110 Horse Power, has a lithium-ion Battery pack. The Leaf has a range of 100 miles in City driving. The Leaf also has Navigation system, remote control from your cell phone and remote monitoring from your cell phone through Nissan secure data center. The expected price of the Leaf, depending on options, will be between $25,000 to $33,000.

Nissan Leaf will employ an advanced IT system. Connected to a global data center, the system provides support, information, and entertainment for drivers 24 hours a day.

The dash-mounted monitor displays the Leaf's remaining power, in addition to showing a selection of nearby charging stations.

User’s mobile phones can be used to turn on air-conditioning, the heater and re-set charging functions even when the vehicle is powered down. An on-board remote-controlled timer can also be pre-programmed to recharge batteries.

• PHOENIX SUT SUV

Production Vehicle Preliminary Specifications

Dimensions & Weights

Overall Length 195.5 inches / 4,965 mm
Overall Width 74.8 inches / 1,900 mm
Overall Height 69 inches / 1,755 mm
Wheelbase 120.5 inches / 3,060 mm

Gross Vehicle Weight 5,820 lbs. / 2,639.9 kg
Curb Vehicle Weight 4,820 lbs. / 2,186.2 kg
Payload 1,000 lbs. / 453.6 kg

Chassis: Front Suspension: Independent torsion bar and double wishbone
Front Brakes: Ventilated disc

Rear Suspension: Rigid axle and 5-link coil springs
Rear Brakes: Disc
Steering: Rack & pinion

Battery Pack: Battery Type (Power Rating): Lithium Titanate Battery (35 kWh)

Performance:

0-60 m.p.h.: Less than 10 seconds
Factory Set Top Speed: 95 m.p.h.
Braking: 60 to 0 m.p.h. in an estimated 150 feet

Range:

Urban (UDDS): 100+ miles per charge
Highway (HFEDS): 100+ miles per charge

Charging Time: On-Board Vehicle 6.6KW Charger: 5 to 6 hours
                        Off-Board High-Power 250KW Charger: Under 10 min. to 95% SOC


• Chevy Volt

The Chevy Volt is an electric hybrid car. It has an electric drive only,  has the range of 40 miles on a full battery charge. When the batteries are discharged, the gas motor drives a generator to supply the electric motor the power needed to keep going, this gives the volt a range of many hundreds of miles. The first year’s volume, by GM’s own calculations, is 10 000 units.

 The idea behind the Volt is wonderful. The car doesn’t have to trade off power between motor and engine from second to second according to some exquisitely complicated mechanism or scheme. Instead, the Volt makes electricity the main course. Today’s hybrids put the motor and engine in parallel so that they juggle their power contributions to the wheels according to many different parameters, including speed, battery charge, and the load on the engine. But the Volt links the power plants in series. That way the motor powers the wheels, and the engine merely engages, when needed, to recharge the vehicle’s enormous lithium-ion battery. How enormous? If you drive no more than 65 kilometers (about 40 miles) and have an electric socket handy at both ends of your commute, you won’t burn a drop of gasoline.

One problem I see in the near future is that inexpensive algae fuel will be available and will require no change in car engine design. The algae product will be mixed in with the fuel we pump now, and will eventually replace most of the oil imported from the Middle East.

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Top Electric Cars - the Good and Bad

• The Aptera 2e.


The Aptera 2 Series (formerly the Aptera typ-1) is a high-efficiency passenger three-wheeled automobile produced by Aptera Motors. The California based company is currently allowing residents of California to pre-order the car.

The first variant of the Series 2 slated for production is the Aptera 2e, a battery electric car. Aptera clams the 2e will accelerate from zero to sixty in under ten seconds, and is able to reach a top speed of 85+ miles per hour. The Aptra 2h, a plug-in-hybrid electric car will be priced from the mid-$20,000 to the $40,000 range, depending on options.

The first Aptera 2h used a small water cooled EFI gasoline engine, with a closed loop Oxygen feedback and a catalytic converter coupled with a 12kw generator/starter. With a five gallon tank the Aptera would have had a range of 600 to 700 miles, compared to the 120 mile range of the Aptera 2e. The Aptera 2h is a series hybrid. The engine would not connect to the drive train it is used to only recharge the batteries.

As with any hybrid, fuel economy is depends on the trip length and the battery charge at the start of the trip. For trips of less than 50 miles on a full battery charge the charging motor will not start at all. Resulting in the same energy use as a pure electric car will get. If on the other hand the car was not plugged in and batteries were not charged the Aptrea would get 130 miles per U.S. gallon. Aptrea Motors quotes 300 miles per U.S. gallon when starting with a fully charged battery on a 120 mile trip.


• Myers Motors Duo

Safety Features:

Spherical body design (like a motorcycle helmet)

Layered composite construction, low center of gravity

Three-point shoulder safety harness / Automotive safety glass

Emergency parking brake / Inertia switch / Emergency Power Off button

Hazard warning lights / Full dash board instrumentation/Seat with head restraint

Curb side driver door / Interior door lock

Benefits:

No more Gas station trips needed

Reduced or eliminated global warming impact

Gets more attention than a $100,000 sports car

Zero emissions for cleaner, healthier air

Access to HOV carpool lanes at 76 mph*

Motorcycle parking and fees

First on first off the ferry

Most energy efficient vehicle on the road

Charge in convenience of your own garage

General:

Onboard battery charger 110 Volt

DC Motor/Controller

Three-wheeled vehicle registers, insures and parks as a motorcycle

72-inch wheel base, 57 inches vehicle height

75 mph top speed, 50-60 mile range

Construction:

A-arm front suspension / Single sided swing arm rear suspension

Cog-belt drive, Three-wheel disc brakes, Spring over hydraulic shocks, 13-inch wheels


Comforts:

Power windows, AM/FM stereo & CD player standard

Two power ports for laptop & cell phone

Heater/defroster, fan operated / Vents (3)

6 cf Trunk storage /Adjustable seat back

Tilt steering wheel / Rack & pinion steering


Additional Features:

30+ hp

Lithium-Ion batteries


Battery life: Approx. 2500 charge/discharge cycles at 50 mile range

Charging:

$20 of electricity for 1000 miles of driving at $0.10 / kWh


About 4-5 miles of driving per hour of charging at 110/20 amp outlet (depending on driving habits)

About 15-20 miles of driving per hour of charging at 220/30 amp outlet (depending on driving habits)


• Mitsubishi i-MiEV

MIEV motors are constructed using an in-wheel motor rotor, an in-wheel motor, a rotor bracket, stator bracket and inverter directly behind the brakes. The batteries can be charged from a standard 15 A/200 V car charger in seven hours and with a three phase electric charger in 25 minutes. The batteries are located under the floor pan and in the Colt uses 22 li-lion modules to produce a cumulative 325 volt. The design allows for an entirely electric vehicle, or a hybrid using the batteries to supplement a traditional internal combustion motor.

According to Mitsubishi, locating the motor behind the wheel offers the company three distinct advantages.

1. It allows for a true four wheel drive system without need of transmission, drive shafts, differential gears or other complex mechanical components. Mitsubishi Motors has been one of the few companies to persist in offering 4WD on vehicles other than SUVs since the technology's heyday in the 1980s.

2. Placing the drive system entirely in the wheels allows for greater freedom of design for interior stylists.

3. The space created facilitates the storage of the batteries, allowing for extra modules to be fitted which would offer increased power and range compared to previous electric vehicles.


• Coda Sedan

• STYLING: The Coda has better street presence than photos show, but it's hardly cutting edge. Style could be a drawback for buyers, who Coda thinks will move up to a full electric car.

• PERFORMANCE: In cut-and-thrust New York City traffic, we had our foot in it and the car kept up just fine. We can't comment on highway performance; the most we saw was about 45 mph.

• SEATING & INTERIOR: The front seats were comfortable for our 20-minute trip, though surprisingly low to the floor. The beltline is low too, so visibility was fine. The rear had enough leg room a full-size adult male human. Styling and plastic quality was acceptable.

• INSTRUMENT PANEL: The new dash will include both digital instruments and advanced airbags, which had the longest lead time of any component. The company must still crash another 30 or so cars to validate them.

• REFINEMENT: The din of New York exterior noise was fairly well suppressed, though some electric motor whine was apparent. A remarkably noisy heater/air-conditioner pump would be replaced in production cars.

• BUILD QUALITY: This is the biggest question for Coda: Can Chinese-designed and built cars offer the high standards of design and build quality that Western buyers require? Panel gaps were wide but consistent, and we can only say nothing fell off during our tenure in the car..

• SUMMARY: This first Coda may never attract fashion-forward car buyers, but the greenest of Southern Californians likely look for different qualities in carbon-free cars.

• PRICE: A list price of $45,000 seems absurd for a not-very-stylish compact car, but the Coda is eligible for a $7,500 Federal tax credit. The state of California may add its own credit as well.



BYD e6

So far, all we know is that the E6 will be a 5 seater with an acceleration of 0 to 100 kph of around 10 seconds. Top speed should be top speed of 160 kph (100 mph), and the battery pack, which is located under the rear passenger seats, will be based on BYD's own lithium-ion iron phosphate technology. Range per charge is expected to be 300 km (186 miles).

But most impressive of all:

"BYD projected the battery had a life of 2,000 cycles, for a lifetime range of about 600,000 km (373,000 miles)"

Charging of the battery will take the night with 220V, but the E6 electric car can also take a fast charge that can bring the battery to 80% SOC in about 15 minutes.

::BYD Introduces Electric E6 Crossover at Beijing Auto Show, ::Beijing 2008: BYD e6 electric MPV, possible production EV in two years

Update December 2008: GM is Weeping: BYD F3DM Plug-in Hybrid Goes On Sale in China, 3 Years Before Volt


• Think City

Think City is short and boxy, with doe-eyed headlights and a nifty glass hatchback. The City has a top speed of around 65 miles per hour, a range of more than 120 miles in city driving, and a full complement of safety features such as ABS and airbags. The cabin is comfortable, well-built and handsome.

Think promises that up to 95 percent of the City is recyclable. Even the body panels are color-impregnated plastic. This makes them tough and dent resistant, and also eliminates the toxins that are released during the painting process. Seeking to counter General Motors' highly publicized EV1 electric car, Ford purchased Pivco in 1999.

Ford pumped tens of millions of dollars into what it curiously renamed the Think Car. California’s electric-vehicle mandate was first watered down to include hybrid vehicles, Then quashed completely in 2003 under continuous threat of legal action by major auto manufacturers such as DaimlerChrysler and General Motors.

Recharging the Think brand

Sale of Think was not due to the electric-car company lack of potential. There was always a very dedicated following amongst Ford for Think. Think still has a good relationship with the American car company and many parts on the Think City, such as the steering wheel, are still sourced from Ford. For all you fans of automotive trivia: Think taillights are identical to those once used in the Lamborghini Diablo supercar.

Think was bought for a paltry $15 million two years ago. Of the initial investment, Development has moved quickly because they had a 90 percent finished car and a good factory."

Early last year additional funds totaling approximately $93 million were raised for development. The company plans to sell its cars almost entirely via the Internet. Customers will buy the car, but lease the batteries in a system, the mobility-pack fee would be $100 to $200 per month (depending on the market) and would include the batteries, car insurance, carbon offsets and even Web service. An owner could text message his/her car and receive messages back with service updates and diagnostics. The batteries would be replaced and recycled when the vehicle detects lost their optimum efficiency levels.

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2010 and Beyond

The start of my seventh year of blogging on energy and its related environmental concerns coincides with the start of a new decade, unless you're of the traditional school that believes the twenty-teens don't really begin until next January 1. Over the holidays I was struck by the number of retrospectives focused on the amply eventful, but profoundly disappointing decade that was ending. Having spent several years reassuring my readers that we weren't reliving the 1970s, in retrospect I'm not so sure. Yet as bad as the '70s were on so many levels, they gave birth to the '80s, which brought revitalization and tremendous technological developments, and culminated in the end of a Cold War that most of us had considered perpetual. There's cause for guarded optimism about the decade ahead, particularly for energy, which is still in the early stages of a massive transformation. The 'Teens will test the capacity of current energy systems to support a return to rapid economic growth and of new energy technologies to go from niche to mainstream.

I could fill the rest of this posting with grandiose predictions about the next ten years, but instead I want to focus on two stories that could provide early clues about energy in the crucial 2010-2020 period. The first almost escaped notice in the energy retrospectives I read last week. Many of them, including one in the Wall St. Journal, attributed the recovery of oil prices in 2009 mainly to the stabilization of the financial system, yet scarcely mentioned the essential role of OPEC's self-restraint. According to the figures in the latest public version of the International Energy Agency's Oil Market Report, between May 2008 and February 2009 OPEC reduced its output by more than 10%, taking well over 3 million barrels per day (MBD) off the market in response to a 3% drop in global oil demand. Despite the usual cheating on its official quotas, its members have avoided the competition for shares of a shrinking market that crashed oil prices from the $30s to $11/bbl in the mid-1980s and set up a decade of low oil prices.

In the process, OPEC's spare production capacity has expanded from less than 2 MBD to roughly 6 MBD. That's quite a buffer against a big price spike as the economy recovers, though it's also the reason oil isn't drastically cheaper than it is today. While we can't know precisely what would have happened if, for example, Saudi Arabia had tried to squeeze the output of its new, Texas-sized Khurais field into the market on top of its existing sales, it's a good bet that oil wouldn't be trading anywhere near its current $81/bbl. The reason this is relevant for the decade ahead is that OPEC could be forced to accommodate even bigger increases from the production agreements recently signed in Iraq, along with more reliable output from Nigeria, if that country's ceasefire with rebels in the Niger Delta leads to a lasting resolution of the problems there. With many of the world's best onshore oil prospects currently off-limits for anyone else to develop, OPEC's members and their continued cohesion hold one of the main keys to oil prices in this decade.

Meanwhile the growth of renewable energy faces a number of important tests as it expands beyond the scale at which it can be tucked safely out of sight and out of mind. We've already seen large solar projects in California's Mojave Desert--one of the most reliably sunny spots on the planet--canceled or relocated to accommodate concerns about wilderness preservation, and now I read that the long-suffering developers of the Cape Wind project off Cape Cod are at risk of having the project's location declared a Historic Site by the National Park Service. With all due respect to the local tribes that apparently consider Nantucket Sound to be sacred, it's worth recalling some of the other history of the region that ought to bear on such a finding. In its heyday Nantucket Island was the center of the global whaling industry, made possible by a fleet of tall-masted sailing ships that used wind power to harvest a key energy resource of the time, from the slaughter of whales for their oil. It's hard to think of a better way to recognize that history--and in a more environmentally-sound 21st century way--than by putting up offshore wind turbines to harness the wind for direct energy production.

And while the permitting for America's first offshore wind farm drags on interminably, the UK government is expected to announce the results of its Third Round of offshore wind bids this week. The new installations would add 25,000 MW of new capacity to a base of offshore UK wind farms in operation or under construction that is already about four times larger than that contemplated for Nantucket Sound.

Oil prices and the expansion of renewables are only two of many factors that will determine the shape of the world's energy economy in 2020, though they rank high on my list of things to watch as the decade begins. Tight oil supplies and high prices would do a lot to promote energy efficiency and new vehicle technologies, while lower, more stable prices might result in a return to the complacency we saw in the late 1980s and '90s. And although renewable power sources are hardly the only means for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and rendering our steadily-growing energy use more sustainable, much depends on the capability of wind, solar and geothermal power to continue their recent impressive expansion. That's true whether you are banking on cleantech and "green jobs" to turn around the US economy or merely interested in the size of the potential opportunity for our suddenly-ample natural gas supplies. I look forward to sharing my observations about these and other trends in the months and years ahead.

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Introduction to the Problem

I would like to say that after watching the documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car”; I was so mad I could light my fireplace with the palm of my hand. But there are a few things that I feel I need to set straight. First, the Electric car is not dead…..just wounded. The “Volt” by Chevrolet is still being made, just not set to be sold to the common “Joe” until 2011. The $4000 tax credit the documentary stated is actually $7,500.


“Electric vehicle” advocates, like me, often feel powerless against huge oil companies, monstrous auto manufacturers, and the federal government. Taking on big industry and/or the government can seem to be a daunting task. But when it comes to EV technology, the US Department of Energy, “Big Oil” and “Big Automotive” have been openly colluding under the auspices of the "Freedom car". As part of their grand scheme, they want to convert much of the transportation industry to hydrogen. Hydrogen funding outstrips all other funding for “Freedom car” to date. But thanks to author and electrical engineer Nerves Cefo, there is something we can do to get EV's back into the mainstream of auto manufacturing. We must demand that the government release the patents on the large capacity NiMH batteries that powered Saturn's EV-1 and Toyota's RAV4-EV, both 100% electric cars. The Toyota’s are still on the road because unlike the EV-1s, they were not destroyed. But Chevron Oil Company still holds the patent on their batteries so no one else can manufacture them. Personally, if someone said I could buy an EV that got 100 miles or more and did not have an internal combustion engine, no transmission, virtually no maintenance, no emissions, no gas and had a battery that lasted the life of the vehicle, I would go buy one tomorrow…..regardless of the price!

The large capacity NiMH batteries used in the Toyota RAV4-EVs and the Saturn EV-1s have the best track record of any electric car battery. They are fully recyclable, road tested and have the longest life cycle. Many of the RAV4-EVs are still on the road today getting 100 miles + per charge. Unfortunately, while they released some of the patents on NiMH batteries for smaller batteries (some used in the Toyota Prius's), the patents for the large capacity NiMH batteries are still held by Chevron, Oil Company.



President Obama is making good on his promise to spearhead the EV revolution. During a visit to Southern California Edison’s Pomona EV test facility, he launched a $2.4 billion competitive grant program for US battery makers.

It’s all part of the Obama administration’s plan to get one million plus in hybrids on the road by 2015.

Obama at a Town Hall Meeting in Los Angeles, California - March 19, 2009. Photos: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

Here’s a quote from the LA Times article By Maeve Reston:

Obama unveils $2.4-billion grant program to aid electric cars

“Even as our economy has been transformed by new forms of technology, our electric grid looks largely the same as it did half a century ago,” Obama said. “So we have a choice to make. We can remain one of the world’s leading importers of foreign oil, or we can make the investments that would allow us to become the world’s leading exporter of renewable energy.” The president renewed his commitment to doubling the country’s supply of renewable energy over the next few years — including spending $11 billion upgrading the nation’s power grid to ease the delivery of renewable energy across the country, and $15 million to help develop green technologies such as solar and wind power, and new coal technologies. As a receptive audience of engineers and workers cheered his plans, Obama pledged to put a million plug-in hybrid vehicles on the road by 2015, and highlighted his offer of up to $7,500 in tax credits for Americans who purchase electric vehicles. The new $2.4-billion grant program, which would be part of his recovery program, would ask companies to compete for federal money to increase the manufacturing of batteries and parts used in the electric cars.

Later that evening, Obama answered questions during a Town Hall Meeting that took place at Miguel Contreras Learning Center, in Los Angeles, California, where he warned us about the energy dinosaurs that would be opposing the new plan:

“…if we are going to make a serious investment in clean energy, well, that requires that we phase out dirty energy. And that requires that we stop subsidizing certain things and instead subsidize other things. Somebody is not going to be happy about that because they’ve been getting the subsidies, so they will start running ads on television saying this is a terrible energy plan.”



(Published by Paul Scott on June 23, 2009)

There are three Auto companies that are still in the E.V. business besides the Chevy “Volt”. Three EV pioneers, Tesla, Nissan and Ford, are receiving loans from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program. Totaling $8 billion, the funds will be used to manufacture efficient vehicles and electric drive components.

In Tesla’s case, they’ll receive a total of $465 million to set up their factory in Southern California for the production of their hot Model S. This car has generated a lot of interest given its superb styling, performance and efficiency. The price point of $57K makes it affordable for a large segment of the population. Part of the money will be used to set up a production line for their battery packs and electric drive trains to be sold to other manufacturers such as their new partner, Daimler.



Nissan will receive $1.6 billion to build EV and battery factories in Tennessee. Having experienced the drive train for their new EV, I am very pleased that this will enable them to ramp up quickly to 150,000 EVs annually. This car will appeal to a larger segment of the population given its price of around $30K.

Ford is the big surprise for me. They’re getting the lion’s share of the money at $5.9 billion. They’ll use it to increase the efficiency of several of their cars and trucks. I assume some will go toward building their new EV with the help of Canadian parts supplier, Magna.

This announcement assures that large numbers of electric vehicles will be available to U.S. customers starting late next year and growing rapidly soon after. Additionally, tens of thousands of jobs will be created.

There will more announcements to come. I’m betting that Bright Automotive in Indiana will be on the next list of recipients.

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Electric Cars

Aren't they pretty! All charged up and ready to go on battery power alone.

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