iPhone 4S em Portugal a partir de 629 euros
Já é conhecido o preço do iPhone 4S em Portugal. A Apple vende-o desbloqueado a partir de 629 euros (versão 16GB).
RYNO: Moto eléctrica de uma roda
Tem um sistema de equilíbrio semelhante à Segway e promete competir com a Vespa e as scooters eléctricas.
DeLorean regressa ao futuro
Um novo modelo DeLorean vai sair da linha de montagem na Irlanda do Norte. Agora, eléctrico.
Veículos eléctricos livres de impostos em 2012
Os veículos exclusivamente eléctricos continuam isentos do imposto sobre veículos (ISV) em 2012.
STAY HUNGRY, STAY FOOLISH!
Vídeo legendado e transcrição do discurso de 2005 de Steve Jobs em Stanford.
Showing posts with label MOBILITY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MOBILITY. Show all posts
MOBI.E electric tour no Norte
Mapa dos postos da rede MOBI.E
Lisboa acolhe conferência de mobilidade eléctrica
Estudo: Portugueses querem carro eléctrico
EU to become free of petrol-fuelled cars by 2050
Google Maps lists EV charging stations
Aposta eléctrica destaca Almada na Europa
De acordo com o jornal PÚBLICO, citado pelo portal Mobi.e, "o júri que avaliou as candidaturas ao prémio destacou em relação a Almada o esforço na promoção de alternativas sustentáveis de mobilidade junto de diferentes públicos-alvo, bem como a impressionante variedade das medidas concretizadas a título definitivo".
Entre elas esteve o "lançamento do Flexibus (um serviço de transporte público em miniautocarros eléctricos), a instalação de pontos de carregamento de veículos eléctricos e a criação de uma passagem aérea ciclável e pedonal para ligar o campus universitário da Caparica ao pólo empresarial Madan Park", avança o jornal.
De Múrcia o júri destacou uma "mistura criativa de actividades para promover hábitos de transporte saudáveis e sustentáveis" e de Riga o "ambicioso programa de iniciativas". Gävle (Suécia), Budapeste (Hungria), Koprivnica (Croácia), Leão (Espanha), Copenhaga (Dinamarca), Nantes (França) e Ljubljana (Eslovénia) ganharam o prémio em anos anteriores.
Na nona edição da Semana Europeia da Mobilidade - que decorreu entre 16 a 22 de Setembro de 2010 - participaram 2221 vilas e cidades da Europa, do Brasil, Canadá, Equador, Argentina e Japão. Durante uma semana, promoveram actividades sob o tema Travel Smarter, Living Better, que em Portugal foi traduzido para ‘Viaje bem, viva melhor'.
Japan vending machines to charge electric cars
The consortium includes Forking Co., a major vending machine operator, and Panasonic Electric Works which will develop and produce electric vehicle chargers with rivals.
Forking has business ties with companies which own a combined 1.2 million vending machines across Japan, or about a half of the national total, company official Reiko Kobayashi said.
The firms plan to install some 10,000 electric vehicle chargers at the sites of the vending machines in the first year of the project, which is due to start at the end of March, she added.
Charging machines "will be installed where beverage vending machines already exist or together with new ones. There are various options," she said.
SoftBank Telecom and SoftBank Mobile are due to provide telecom services to connect the charging systems, the group said in a press release.
Automakers such as Nissan, which launched its all-electric Leaf last year, are gambling that electric cars with zero tailpipe emissions will catch on and, some time in the future, start to drive traditional gas-guzzlers off the road.
But many consider the lack of a charging network as the key obstacle to the proliferation of electric vehicles, prompting consumer concerns such as "range-anxiety", or the fear that their cars will run out of juice between charging points.
iPhone app connects EV owners with plugs
While the U.S. government has invested $115 million to build 15,000 public chargers across the country, they are only starting to be installed. Even then, there could be a shortage of available public plugs for EV drivers, the ranks of whom are expected to swell to 1 million by 2015.
Stepping in with a solution is a new free iPhone app, PlugShare. Available for download starting today, the app is designed to connect EV owners with available plugs, both public and private.
Individuals who have 110- and 220-volt chargers and are willing to offer them to EV drivers in need of a charge can sign up to add their address to the network. EV owners can then contact the owner of the outlet to power up.
"A lot of the early adopters we talked to said the government infrastructure for charging EVs isn't there yet, but a lot of people are getting charging docks installed at their houses and asking, 'Why shouldn't I be able to share my charger?'" said Armen Petrosian, co-developer of the app with Forrest North.
PlugShare is the first iPhone app from their Palo Alto-based EV software firm, Xatori.
"Our goal is to create products that lead to democratization of the grid," North said. He said his company's future apps may incorporate strategies for carbon offsets and lowering pollution.
Toyota to sell home electric-car chargers
From Reuters/Cnet: Toyota Motor will launch home battery chargers for electric and plug-in hybrid cars next year as it starts selling new models of environmentally friendly cars, the Nikkei business daily reported today.The chargers, which will also be compatible with non-Toyota cars, will come in two types, the Nikkei reported, citing company sources. One would extend from the exterior wall of a home and the other would be for setting up in a garage.
The company expects to sell 20,000 to 30,000 units in the first year, with each costing about several tens of thousands of yen to 200,000 yen ($2,405) including installation costs, the Nikkei added.
Toyota, the world's biggest automaker, has said it would begin selling a Prius-based plug-in hybrid by early 2012 mainly in Japan, the United States, and Europe, targeting sales of more than 50,000 units a year.
The car, which--unlike a conventional hybrid--can be plugged in to enable longer-distance driving using only electricity, is expected to cost as little as 3 million yen in Japan, the company has said.
In the field of battery electric vehicles, Toyota plans to begin selling in 2012 a model based on the tiny iQ in the United States, Japan, and Europe.
Estonia plans nationwide mobility network
Estonia announced Thursday that it would sell 10 million carbon credits to Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation and use the proceeds to set up a nationwide network of charge-points for electric cars, the AFP reported.Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said that the government had approved the sale of the unused credits -- tradeable allowances granted by Brussels to European Union members in a drive to limit greenhouse gas emissions by industry.
"Under a Green Investment Scheme, the proceeds will be invested into the establishment of a country-wide charging infrastructure for electric vehicles," Ansip told reporters.
Around 500 Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric cars are to be provided to local authorities for use by social workers. A grant scheme is also to be set up to support the purchase of electric vehicles by private individuals.
"We hope that around 1,000 electric cars will be on our streets by the end of 2012," Ansip added. That figure includes the 500 allocated to local authorities.
Estonia -- a former Soviet-ruled nation of 1.3 million which joined the EU in 2004 -- holds a general election on Sunday.
The centre-right Ansip rejected suggestions that he had made the announcement Thursday in a drive to get the environmentalist vote.
"Talks have been ongoing for a long time and it is pure coincidence," he insisted.
The plan involves setting up some 250 points able to charge an electric vehicle's battery to up to 80 percent capacity within 30 minutes. They are to be located in major cities and along main highways.
"This is a very innovative project. The future will show whether and when electric cars will be in mass use, but this will help us to increase rapidly the number of electric cars in Estonia and to save energy," Economy Minister Juhan Parts told reporters.
Germany not doing enough to promote EVs
From Deutsche Welle: Germany is targeting a fleet of one million electric cars by 2020. But the path forward isn’t clear, and some say the country needs to pick up the pace to protect the future of its auto industry.Electric cars need perks if the market is ever to take off, says the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (ZVEI).
The association believes the best way to kick-start the electric car market in Germany is to offer incentives like the use of bus lanes to skirt past traffic, free parking in reserved spots and tax breaks.
Although the German government hopes to see 1 million electric vehicles on the country's roads by 2020, it's not doing enough to set an example, according to ZVEI. The association points to China, which aims to put 500,000 electric vehicles on the road in 2012 and the French government's decision to buy 50,000 for its own use.
The race to put electric cars on the road isn't just about innovation and production power, says ZVEI spokesman Andreas Abs; it's also about developing a market for used electric vehicles, which consumers can more readily afford.
France's decision to equip its government fleet with electric vehicles "creates a strong market impulse," Abs told Deutsche Welle. "In five or six years, there will be a veritable market for used electric vehicles."
And China, Abs believes, could eventually pull ahead of Germany when it comes to automotive expertise.
"Anyone with 500,000 electric cars on the market is going to acquire early experience with that technology," he said. "That's why we simply need to do more. The government needs to do more. The automobile industry is a significant part of our industry, and we can't afford to stand by and watch."
But if electric cars are to gain widespread appeal, there have to be obvious advantages to owning one. Among other things, that means an attractive infrastructure to service them and incentives to buy them.
Tax breaks and more
For a start, ZVEI recommends temporarily lifting Germany's 40 percent tax on electricity for consumers charging electric vehicles. The industry group also suggests introducing an interchangeable license plate similar to Switzerland's, which can simply be swapped between a conventional and electric car. Such a plate would reduce insurance and licensing costs as an incentive.
"We believe progress can be made with practical suggestions that don't necessarily cost money right away in the sense of a premium for electric vehicles," Abs said.
While ZVEI doesn't advocate direct subsidies, it does believe the German government should invest more in research, particularly in batteries. The association recommends doubling government funding to 1 billion euros or more.
"Instead of seeing money invested at the back-end with a premium for purchasing, we want to see it invested at the front-end in research and development because that's more difficult for a company that needs to make money on its products," Abs said. "We also need a smart grid, which fills the batteries of an electric car whenever wind turbines are turning. That's particularly appealing because consumers will then know that the electricity they're using to drive with wasn't generated by burning fossil fuels."
Bulgaria rolls out electric vehicle plan
Bulgaria's REnergY announced during a two-day conference on electric vehicles that it planned to soon start construction on at least 15 charging stations in the country, the Sofia News Agency reports.
The company said it was working on prototype models, adding drivers of "traditional" vehicles will be at an economic disadvantage once electrical vehicles become a reality in Sofia.
The company said the first few charging stations would be free for the first year to promote the use of electric vehicles. German engineering company Siemens, a partner in the project, won financing for EV stations through a grant from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The aim of the pilot project is to examine the best ways to develop a functional network of EV charging stations across the country.
Corredor eléctrico une Porto e Vigo
No Expresso: O CEIIA - Centro para a Excelência e inovação da Indústria Automóvel e o seu homólogo galego CTAG (Centro Tecnológico de Automocion de Galicia) apresentaram esta manhã no TecMaia o projeto conjunto "MOBI2Grid: Corredor de Mobilidade Eléctrica Porto/Vigo". A iniciativa, dizem os promotores, visa posicionar a Euro-Região Norte /Galiza "como pioneira na adoção da mobilidade elétrica . A operação conta com uma dotação orçamental de €1,8 milhões até 2012.Mas o que representa o MOBI2GRID ? O programa, diz o CEIIA, "aprofunda iniciativas conjuntas anteriores no, âmbito da mobilidade elétrica e desenvolve um sistema interpretável entre as duas regiões".
A parceria incluiu a criação de pontos de carregamento no corredor Porto-Vigo, que funcionarão como laboratórios de demonstração e teste. Além disso, desenvolverá um sistema de telediagnóstico do veículo e a análise da sua interação com o utilizador e com a infra-estrutura de carregamento. Isto é, o programa desenvolverá protótipos e experiências piloto no corredor de mobilidade e surge como um exemplo virtuoso de cooperação Norte-Galiza em Investigação & Desenvolvimento em áreas como as energias renováveis ou telediagnóstico do veículo elétrico.
Repartição de tarefas
Na repartição de tarefas, o CEIIA ficará focado na infra-estrutura de carregamento e no modelo de gestão da rede. Ao CTAG trabalhará a componente associada às barreiras técnicas e sociais, através da conceção do sistema de monitorização, recolha e tratamento de dados e a interacção do carro eléctrico com o utilizador
Na apresentação os promotores, enfatizaram que a iniciativa transfronteiriça "pretende criar um ambiente de inovação que envolva diferentes entidades regionais, empresas e universidades com o objectivo de gerar e atrair novos investimentos associados ao desenvolvimento, fabrico e teste de sistemas e soluções de mobilidade eléctrica".
O Projecto MOBI2GRID está alinhado com as prioridades em matéria de transportes da União Europeia e do programa de cooperação transfronteiriço Portugal/Espanha.Será constituído um observatório para a mobilidade elétrica da Euro-Região Norte/Galiza.
Recharging posts for electric cars put into use in Hainan, China
The recharging posts were erected on Haifu Road in the provincial capital Haikou by Hainan Power Grid Corp., a subsidiary of China Southern Power Grid Co., Ltd. (CSG).
The recharging posts will mainly be used for a government fleet of 30 electric cars, which will take to the street during the first half of this year, said Hu Bin, a recharging station program director with the Hainan Power Grid Corp.
Haikou was singled out in May 2010 as one of the 25 pilot cities in the country for the promotion and operation of electric vehicles.
Construction of recharging facilities began in November last year by the power company.
According to an electric vehicle development plan by the Haikou municipal government, the city will have installed six recharging stations, along with 759 recharging posts by 2012 to serve 1,050 new energy vehicles, including 400 electric vehicles.
The Chinese government introduced policies in 2010 to boost the development of new energy vehicles, including electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles.
According to a development blueprint released in September last year, China aims to have more than 500,000 new energy vehicles on the road by 2015 and 5 million by 2020.
In the meantime, China will build 4,000 electric vehicle charging stations over the next five years and another 6,000 before 2020.
Portugal: 10% of all cars electric by 2020
Portuguese prime minister José Sócrates said his country wants at least 10% of the nation's car fleet to become electric by 2020. The announcement was made at Abu Dhabi's World Future Energy Summit (WFES 2011), where the Portuguese Government and some of the nation's top CEOs have showcased their latest renewable energy projects.Mobi.e, Portugal's electric mobility network, was one of the stars, with its stand attracting investors and particularly many young Emiratis interested in electric cars.
CEIIA's MobiCar was also on display, with the Portuguese media reporting on Lebanon's Government interest in the low-cost electric vehicle.
Portuguese technology will soon be incorporated in Masdar City, a high-density, pedestrian-friendly development near Abu Dhabi, where current and future renewable energy and clean technologies are showcased, marketed, researched, developed, tested and implemented.
Related posts (in Portuguese):
VIDEO: Portugal apresenta Mobi.e e MobiCar em Abu Dhabi
MobiCar desperta interesse internacional em Abu Dhabi
More on WFES 2011:
UN calls for clean energy revolution (Khaleej Times)
Renewable energy sector has lots of spark left, experts say (Khaleej Times)
Masdar World Future Energy Summit (Environmental News Network)
VIDEO: Portugal apresenta Mobi.e e MobiCar em Abu Dhabi
A rede de mobilidade eléctrica Mobi.e e protótipo do primeiro veículo eléctrico de tecnologia portuguesa, o MobiCar, estão em destaque na World Future Energy Summit 2011, o maior evento mundial no sector da energia, que decorre por estes dias, entre 17 e 20 de Janeiro, em Abu Dhabi, nos Emirados Árabes Unidos.
Texto de Mobi.e e vídeo da RTP:
Soluções portuguesas na 'montra' mundial de Abu Dhabi
Na maior feira internacional de energia, que decorre de 17 a 21 de Janeiro em Abu Dhabi (Emirados Árabes Unidos), a aposta de Portugal nas energias renováveis e na mobilidade eléctrica foi sublinhada pelo primeiro-ministro José Sócrates.
No discurso de abertura da World Future Energy Summit (WFES), o primeiro-ministro português lembrou que o país conta com"um dos maiores parques fotovoltaicos do mundo e um dos programas mais ambiciosos na área das energias renováveis". O investimento no sector atraiu para Portugal"as maiores empresas de energia solar, hidrica e eólica", afirmou José Sócrates, que considerou que a aposta é importante não só para o ambiente como para o crescimento económico.
"Portugal é reconhecido nesta área como líder, em resultado das reformas dos últimos seis anos nas energias renováveis, na eficiência energética, na mobilidade eléctrica, na construção sustentável e em smart grids", declarou o primeiro-ministro. "Somos exemplo de como é possível fazer reformas e ter resultados em pouco tempo", defendeu.
Sócrates falou ainda do futuro, afirmando que Portugal tenciona criar em Évora uma smart city semelhante a Masdar. A cidade no emirado de Abu Dhabi, em construção, é a primeira do mundo com zero emissões poluentes, através de projectos inovadores de eficiência energética e mobilidade eléctrica.
Após a cerimónia de abertura, o xeque Khalifa bin Zayed, anfitrião do evento, visitou em primeiro lugar o pavilhão de Portugal, onde estão presentes empresas nacionais como a EDP, Efacec, Eneida, Amorim Isolamentos, Solar Plus, Martifer Solar, Novabase, CEIIA,Tekever, a Janz e o Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade, entre outras entidades.
Em busca da internacionalização em Abu Dhabi
É o maior evento mundial do sector energético e uma oportunidade única para a internacionalização de empresas e soluções nacionais na área. Mobi.e, CEIIA, Efacec e Novabase estão na WFES de Abu Dhabi, nos Emirados Árabes Unidos, para celebrar novas parcerias além-fronteiras, numa altura em que um mundo em crise se reinventa e investe na sustentabilidade.
"A presença do Mobi.E no WFES representa essencialmente uma oportunidade para apresentar a nossa solução para a mobilidade eléctrica aos principais players da energia, uma vez que nesta feira estarão presentes milhares de CEO de grandes empresas deste sector", explica João Dias, responsável do Gabinente de Apoio à Mobilidade Eléctrica (GAMEP).
A organização do evento em Abu Dhabi não acontece por acaso. "Abu Dhabi está, de forma muito inteligente, a utilizar as receitas da exploração de petróleo para desenvolver uma economia energeticamente sustentável. Daí ser natural que as autoridades e empresas dos Emirados possam demonstrar interesse por projectos pioneiros a nível mundial como o Mobi.E", considera João Dias, que cita o exemplo de Masdar. As autoridades dos Emirados estão a construir naquele local a primeira cidade do mundo com zero emissões de carbono.
O responsável português afirma que o Mobi.e pode assumir um importante papel na estratégia dos Emirados: "Não existe a nível mundial nenhuma outra solução tão avançada como o Mobi.E que permita tornar a mobilidade eléctrica uma realidade no curto prazo. O Mobi.E encaixa perfeitamente na estratégia de Abu Dhabi de ter o state of the art das tecnologias da sustentabilidade".
O CEIIA (Centro para a Excelência e Inovação na Indústria Automóvel), por seu turno, leva a Abu Dhabi o Mobi.Car, o primeiro automóvel eléctrico de tecnologia portuguesa. O CEIIA está no Médio Oriente tanto para apresentar soluções nacionais como para "identificar projectos que estão a ser criados noutras partes do mundo e, eventualmente, desenvolvê-los em Portugal".
"Apesar de estarem a passar um momento difícil, a crise nos Emirados Árabes Unidos é muito mais suave do que a que se passa em Portugal. Além disso, o sector automóvel, uma das principais áreas de negócio do CEIIA, continua a ser uma indústria onde os EAU apostam fortemente, e nos últimos anos têm procurado novas soluções de mobilidade", aponta o director comercial Alexandre Teixeira. "É precisamente em Abu Dhabi que estão sediadas várias empresas de Fórmula 1", exemplifica o responsável.
A presença no emirado é, por isso, obrigatória. "Estamos a falar de uma das maiores feiras de energia do mundo, onde é possível ter uma grande exposição internacional e por onde, só no ano passado, passaram cerca de 4 mil CEO'S, com poder de decisão e selecção dos projectos onde querem apostar", recorda Alexandre Teixeira.
Para empresas como a Novabase, a presença em Abu Dhabi vai além de uma oportunidade de negócios no Médio Oriente. "A WFES é um evento à escala planetária. Nele estarão presentes os principais actores do mercado da energia e nele se discutem as problemáticas ligadas às diversas fontes de energia e tecnologias, numa perspectiva verdadeiramente global", descreve Luís Lobo.
A empresa tecnológica decidiu em anos recentes investir em força em campos de forte desenvolvimento como o das smart grids e da mobilidade eléctrica. "Estas duas áreas atingiram um patamar de desenvolvimento tal, que permite à Novabase considerar a exploração de mercados internacionais. Como resultado da presença neste evento, esperamos resultados em termos de novas parcerias e, possivelmente, o estabelecimento de contactos com potenciais novos clientes", afirma o responsável.
A Efacec aposta em Abu Dhabi no reforço da internacionalização, num momento em que os seus negócios externos "representam já mais do que actividade em Portugal".
"Esse facto, que deriva de uma aposta estratégica definida há alguns anos, leva a que tenhamos todo o interesse em estar presentes numa feira deste tipo, pois a energia é uma das nossas principais actividades", explica Pedro Silva, director da Efacec.
Em Abu Dhabi, a aposta vai para a inovação. "Seleccionamos algumas actividades da Efacec, ligadas aos novos paradigmas ao nível de sustentabilidade energética, que são a mobilidade eléctrica, as redes inteligentes e as renováveis, as quais daremos a conhecer aos visitantes, esperando desse modo detectar novas oportunidades em mercados externos. Em qualquer destas actividades estamos envolvidos em projectos dos mais avançados a nível mundial e esperamos que isso seja uma vantagem que daremos a conhecer", afirma Pedro Silva.
Electric vehicle charging station market in the US to exceed $4B by 2016
The projections in the electric vehicle study by Zpryme's EV Insights Practice and sponsored by Airbiquity (download ‘The Electric Vehicle Study’ for free www.zpryme.com) show that the charging service market value is expected to grow at faster rate than the charging station market value, but the charging station market is expected to be almost eight times larger than the service industry by 2016.
With such high anticipation for the growing U.S. EV market, developing and deploying charging stations has quickly become an extremely competitive race. Both large companies and start-ups are vying for market share, including Coulomb Technologies, ClipperCreek, ECOtality, ABB, GE, Siemens, Leviton, AeroVironment and Pep Stations.
Some key market value projections (2011 - 2016):
Electric vehicle sales:
Annual EV/PHEV unit sales are projected grow by 36.2% annually from 2011 to 2016, from 43,400 to 203,200.
The total EV/PHEV stock are projected to grow from 104,200 in 2011 to 730,700 in 2016.
Charging Stations:
Home (level II) charging station unit sales are projected to grow by 37.7% annually from 2011 to 2016, from 25,400 to 125,900.
Home (level II) charging station sales will grow from $239.6 million to $1.07 billion during this time period. Home charging stations are projected to account for 32.1% of the market value in 2011 and 27.0% in 2016.
Public (level II) charging station unit sales are projected to grow by 43.1% annually from 2011 to 2016, from 13,600 to 81,300.
Public (level II) charging station sales will grow from $282.0 million to $1.60 billion during this time period. Level II charging stations are projected to account for 37.8% of the market value in 2011 and 40.7% in 2016.
Fast (level III) charging station sales will grow from $193.4 million to $1.15 billion during this time period. Level III charging stations are projected to account for 25.9% of the market in 2011 and 29.1% 2016. (see table 1 above)
Fast (level III) charging station unit sales are projected to grow by 44.2% annually from 2011 to 2016, from 2,200 to 13,500.
EV Charging Service Users:
Annual new charging service users are projected to grow by 40.4% annually from 2011 to 2016, from 27,600 to 150,400.
The cumulative total number of charging service users is projected to grow from 39,800 in 2011 to 574,900 million in 2016.
5 electric vehicle predictions for 2011 by PluginCars.com
1 - The majority of people who drive a plug-in vehicle won't own it. Thanks to car rental fleets, taxis, and car share programs, getting people into plug-in vehicles will be more influential in the long run than getting them to sign on the dotted line.
2 - Automakers will get push back from EV owners about how long it takes vehicles to fully charge. Most vehicle charging will be done overnight, enabling owners to wake up to a fully charged battery without concern for the rate at which it was charged. But because automakers decided to take the cautious (and less expensive) approach of installing onboard charging equipment that provides a maximum of 3.3 kW to the batteries, a full charge will take longer than necessary leaving some consumers feeling like they overpaid for charging equipment.
3 - The most popular selling EVs won't have four wheels. Electric two-wheeled vehicles, including bicycles, scooters and motorcycles are a huge global market that will continue to overshadow electric passenger vehicles for the foreseeable future. China is by far the largest market, with more than 48 million sales projected. In North America, the sale of two-wheeled EVs will outnumber passenger PEVs by approximately 8:1 in 2011, but the gap will be narrowed to close to 2 to 1 by 2015 as passenger vehicles sales will grow much more quickly.
4 - Many EV charging stations will spend the majority of their time idle. The strategy of installing a network of charging equipment may be good psychologically for EV owners and the automakers, but the business benefit for the owners of charging equipment will be lacking during the early days of EV sales. During 2011 and 2012 there will not be sufficient penetration of EVs for charging spots to see many visits–if any—per day.
5 - Somebody somewhere will have a bad EV experience and the media will overreact. The first time a driver is left "stranded" by running out of charge will be cause célèbre for the doubters to highlight the superiority of gas cars. The potential also exists for EV owner frustration if the promised all-electric driving range advertised is not realized. Heavy-footed drivers and trips taken in extreme weather will substantially cut into driving efficiency, but that should not be a surprise or especially noteworthy.
Read more of it and get the white paper at PluginCars.com
Portuguese PM is the first head of government in the world to use an electric car
The Prime Minister José Socrates is one of the ten recipients and will now travel exclusively by Electric Car for his official travels around the capital city. With this Portugal becomes the first country in the world to have a
Prime Minister, Jose Socrates, said:
"Portugal is extremely proud of the introduction of the electric vehicle. This initiative is only possible due the fast implementation and development of the Portuguese MOBI.E Charging Network, which is considered a leading example to the world of how to roll out electric cars. Portugal is the first country in the world to have a nation-wide smart grid for electric vehicles."
The other cars will be purchased by nine companies of the technological consortium that developed the MOBI.E solution as a clear sign of the need for a transition to Electric Mobility.
The cars were delivered Carlos Tavares, Vice-President of Nissan, in a Ceremony that occurred in Parque das Nações, in Lisbon.
Portugal Pioneer on Electric Mobility
Portugal is the first country in the world to implement an electric vehicle charging network at a national scale. The MOBI.E network, which currently spreads over 25 municipalities throughout the country, displays over 50 charging points already installed growing to more than 1300 normal charging points and 50 quick charging stations by mid-2011.
It is the only truly integrated system in the world, focusing on the user and ensuring open-access and interoperability. Such approach has drawn interest from many countries to the MOBI.E Programme.
The MOBI.E charging network is thus the first electric mobility smart grid and has established itself as a world industry benchmark.
Portugal has therefore become the definite living lab for electric mobility, and is well on its way for a more sustainable oil-independent future.
Read more...
