Electric and Hybrid Vehicles: Power Sources, Models, Sustainability, Infrastructure and the Market reviews the performance, cost, safety, and sustainability of battery systems for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs), including nickel-metal hydride batteries and Li-ion batteries. Throughout this book, especially in the first chapters, alternative vehicles with different power trains are compared in terms of lifetime cost, fuel consumption, and environmental impact. The emissions of greenhouse gases are particularly dealt with. The improvement of the battery, or fuel cell, performance and governmental incentives will play a fundamental role in determining how far and how substantial alternative vehicles will penetrate into the market. An adequate recharging infrastructure is of paramount importance for the diffusion of vehicles powered by batteries and fuel cells, as it may contribute to overcome the so-called range anxiety."" Thus, proposed battery charging techniques are summarized and hydrogen refueling stations are described. The final chapter reviews the state of the art of the current models of hybrid and electric vehicles along with the powertrain solutions adopted by the major automakers. - Contributions from the worlds leading industry and research experts - Executive summaries of specific case studies - Information on basic research and application approaches

Considerable work has gone into electric car and battery development in the last ten years, with the prospect of substantial improvements in range and performance in battery cars as well as in hybrids and those using fuel cells. This book covers the development of electric cars, from their early days, to new hybrid models in production. Most of the coverage is focused on the very latest technological issues faced by automotive engineers working on electric cars, as well as the key business factors vital for the successful transfer of electric cars into the mass market.

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCVs) could alleviate the nation's dependence on oil and reduce U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas. Industry-and government-sponsored research programs have made very impressive technical progress over the past several years, and several companies are currently introducing pre-commercial vehicles and hydrogen fueling stations in limited markets. However, to achieve wide hydrogen vehicle penetration, further technological advances are required for commercial viability, and vehicle manufacturer and hydrogen supplier activities must be coordinated. In particular, costs must be reduced, new automotive manufacturing technologies commercialized, and adequate supplies of hydrogen produced and made available to motorists. These efforts will require considerable resources, especially federal and private sector funding. This book estimates the resources that will be needed to bring HFCVs to the point of competitive self-sustainability in the marketplace. It also estimates the impact on oil consumption and carbon dioxide emissions as HFCVs become a large fraction of the light-duty vehicle fleet.

For a century, almost all light-duty vehicles (LDVs) have been powered by internal combustion engines operating on petroleum fuels. Energy security concerns about petroleum imports and the effect of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on global climate are driving interest in alternatives. Transitions to Alternative Vehicles and Fuels assesses the potential for reducing petroleum consumption and GHG emissions by 80 percent across the U.S. LDV fleet by 2050, relative to 2005. This report examines the current capability and estimated future performance and costs for each vehicle type and non-petroleum-based fuel technology as options that could significantly contribute to these goals. By analyzing scenarios that combine various fuel and vehicle pathways, the report also identifies barriers to implementation of these technologies and suggests policies to achieve the desired reductions. Several scenarios are promising, but strong, and effective policies such as research and development, subsidies, energy taxes, or regulations will be necessary to overcome barriers, such as cost and consumer choice.

• New York Times bestseller • The 100 most substantive solutions to reverse global warming, based on meticulous research by leading scientists and policymakers around the world “At this point in time, the Drawdown book is exactly what is needed; a credible, conservative solution-by-solution narrative that we can do it. Reading it is an effective inoculation against the widespread perception of doom that humanity cannot and will not solve the climate crisis. Reported by-effects include increased determination and a sense of grounded hope.” —Per Espen Stoknes, Author, What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming “There’s been no real way for ordinary people to get an understanding of what they can do and what impact it can have. There remains no single, comprehensive, reliable compendium of carbon-reduction solutions across sectors. At least until now. . . . The public is hungry for this kind of practical wisdom.” —David Roberts, Vox “This is the ideal environmental sciences textbook—only it is too interesting and inspiring to be called a textbook.” —Peter Kareiva, Director of the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UCLA In the face of widespread fear and apathy, an international coalition of researchers, professionals, and scientists have come together to offer a set of realistic and bold solutions to climate change. One hundred techniques and practices are described here—some are well known; some you may have never heard of. They range from clean energy to educating girls in lower-income countries to land use practices that pull carbon out of the air. The solutions exist, are economically viable, and communities throughout the world are currently enacting them with skill and determination. If deployed collectively on a global scale over the next thirty years, they represent a credible path forward, not just to slow the earth’s warming but to reach drawdown, that point in time when greenhouse gases in the atmosphere peak and begin to decline. These measures promise cascading benefits to human health, security, prosperity, and well-being—giving us every reason to see this planetary crisis as an opportunity to create a just and livable world.

This illustrated history chronicles electric and hybrid cars from the late 19th century to today's fuel cell and plug-in automobiles. It describes the politics, technology, marketing strategies, and environmental issues that have impacted electric and hybrid cars' research and development. The important marketing shift from a "woman's car" to "going green" is discussed. Milestone projects and technologies such as early batteries, hydrogen and bio-mass fuel cells, the upsurge of hybrid vehicles, and the various regulations and market forces that have shaped the industry are also covered.