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Mercedes defies crisis with investments electric transport future.

March 11, 2009

“We have to make our zero emissions vehicles fascinating and beautiful,” said Mercedes-Benz’ research and development boss, Dr. Thomas Weber at the Geneva Motor Show 2009. This year Mercedes therefor will spend a chunk of his 8 billion euro budget doing just that. Weber is convinced that for him it will be money well spent and that companies that do so will not only be more likely to survive but will emerge from the financial crisis with added strength. He will be spending money on developing high technology diesel and petrol engines, hybrids and, as part of the company’s Concept BlueZERO programme, zero emissions electric vehicles – including fuel cells. This year, the new generation Mercedes B-class will be revealed and a small batch will be fuel cell powered. “We have changed the timeline for their introduction from 2010-11 to 2009,” said Weber. “This shows our clear commitment to roll out this technology around the globe.” Weber reckons that an effective network of hydrogen filling stations could be built in Germany for about 1.7bn euros: “A small amount compared to the money the banking community has burned in the last few months!” he added.

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EU Cohesian funds thunnel € 105 bln to clean local development

March 10, 2009

European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Daniela Hübner announced on March 9, 2009 that €105 billion will be invested in the “green economy” through the EU Cohesion Policy. The funding represents more than 30% of the regional policy budget for 2007-2013. Commissioner Hübner said: “Support for the green economy and the environment goes hand-in-hand with the Cohesion Policy’s objective to deliver sustainable growth, jobs and competitiveness. In a difficult financial climate, this investment will be instrumental in creating long-term employment and reviving local economies, as well as underpinning the EU’s commitment to the fight against climate change.”The €105 billion dedicated to green projects and jobs is almost three times greater than the sum allocated in the 2000-2006 budgetary period. A large part of the envelope (€54 billion) is designed to help Member States to comply with EU environmental legislation. With €48 billion targeted at measures aimed at achieving EU climate objectives and creating a low carbon economy, the Cohesion Policy is making a considerable contribution to these goals. This includes €23 billion for railways, €6 billion for clean urban transport, €4.8 billion for renewable energies and €4.2 billion for energy efficiency. The EU Parlaiment is expected to adopt the Commission proposal [...]

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Honda’s FCX Clarity starts at -30 Celsius at Geneva Motor Show 2009

March 6, 2009

Honda is featuring fuel cell car the FCX Clarity fuel cell car at the Geneva Motor Show (March 5-15, 2009) . The FCX Clarity is a next-generation, zero-emission, hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle based on an entirely new Honda V Flow fuel cell platform,  powered by the Honda V Flow fuel cell stack. The latest FCX sees improvements to driving range, power, weight and efficiency and boasts a startup at temperatures as low as -30° C. The FCX Clarity demonstrates the complementary use of fuel cells and batteries in new car models, using Honda’s V Flow stack in combination with a new compact and efficient lithium ion battery pack and a single hydrogen storage tank to power the vehicle’s electric drive motor.  Honda has begun leasing the FCX Clarity to a limited number of retail consumers in California, with the first vehicles having been delivered in the summer of 2008.   Among those to receive the second generation of Honda’s fuel cell car will be the LA-based Spallino family who were the world’s first hydrogen family when they began leasing a previous generation FCX in June 2005.

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EHA presents national strategies at Roads2HyCom event March 4, 2009

March 5, 2009

The EHA presented national strategies at the Roads2HyCom Workshop “REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND HYDROGEN PROJECTS” organised by Roads2HyCom in co-operation with HyER (formerly HyRaMP), the European Regions and Municipalitities Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells on March 4, 2009 in Brussels.  The EHA highlighted the developments in France (H2E project coordinated by Air Liquide) the German National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Programme NIP, and the Norwegian HYNOR projects. National hydrogen and fuel cell platforms in Spain, Portugal, Italy,  and the Czech Republic have been set up to complement the developments of the EU Joint Undertaking  In France and Greece new initiaitves to create a national platform have been launched. The UK Ministry of Industry is supprting the Fuel Cell UK network  The EHA is organzing a National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association workshop on June 17, 2009 in Brussels.

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2008 Ford Edge in Quantum of Solace

UN launches 50 by 50 Global Fuel Economy Initiaitve car fleets

March 5, 2009

On the occasion of the Motorshow in Geneva the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Transport Forum (ITF) and the FIA Foundation launched the ’50 by 50′ Global Fuel Economy Initiative  to promote the development of a global car fleet that runs on 50% less fuel by 2050. The Initiaitve seeks to  boost the efficiency of all new cars by 50% by 2030, with the entire global fleet expected to reach this goal by 2050. The plan is set to reduce annual CO2 emissions by two gigatonnes (Gt) by 2050, while saving six billion barrels of oil. With the number of cars expecting to triple by 2050, the organisations behind the initiative say that achieving their goal could stabilise CO2 emissions at just above 2005 levels.

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