Related Posts
Electric cars: solutions to the ‘refueling’ dilemma?One of the main ‘problems’ or turn-offs about owning an electric car for many consumers is their range...
Honda To Launch Battery-Powered Cars
Despite their criticism last year of battery-powered cars, it seems like Honda now has to eat their own...
Europeans to Test Solar Power Charging Stations
A new test project is going underway across Europe: The E-Move Charging Station.
Imagine you are out one day,...
Eco-retro electric bubble cars to hit European streets
A new wave of electric cars is coming to Europe in the form of futuristic bubble cars including,...
U.S. – West Coast to welcome first wave of electric cars
2010 means electric cars will soon be humming around America's city streets, emitting nothing into the air but...
Tip of the Day
To save energy, remember to turn off the light when leaving a room
Electric cars: Public battery swap stations to launch in Japan
Renault Fluence EV; photo by canonsnapper (source: Flickr Creative Commons)
On April 26th the city of Tokyo, Japan will experiment with a new public system for charging electric vehicles. The ‘battery swap’ method robotically changes empty batteries for fully charged ones at specially equipped charging stations. This innovative system, developed by the American company Better Place, provides a much quicker way of charging electric cars than the traditional ‘plug in and wait’ option.
The battery swap system will be tested for a three-month trial period by a major taxi firm located in Tokyo’s central Roppongi district.
From an article in the Guardian:
All of our components will be tested together with the Renault Fluence electric vehicles. There will be 10 cars this year, and as we work out the kinks in the system we’ll scale up by bringing in additional vehicles and deploying additional infrastructure.
–Better Place
Better Place is also running a trial of EV 100 charging stations in Copenhagen and has plans for ventures in Israel, Australia, Hawaii and California.
by Graham Land
Additional resources:
VOA News – Electric Vehicles Charge Ahead in US
Electric cars: solutions to the ‘refueling’ dilemma?
Tags: battery, better place, cars, charging, electric, EV, Fluence, japan, Renault, stations, swap, system, Tokyo, trial, vehicle
Other Greenfudge.org posts
Pants on fire: Arson and property development in Greece
photo: Grace Trivino (Flickr CC) A couple of weeks ago I posted about camping on the Greek island of Karpathos. The wind there was so strong it blew the tent down, forcing us to move on to a calmer, safer place. So last week we camped again on Crete in the Viannos area, where winds were comparably gentle – for the first 4-5 days at least. On the last night the winds went “Karpathian”, filling the tents with sand. Again, we...
Greener homes and Greener sex: More environmental videos from msnbc.com
First – from NBC television's 'The Today Show', a story about two American families who reduce their energy use by taking simple measures in their own homes. The report includes several helpful ways to save energy and save money. Tips range from installing low flow showerheads to weather stripping windows and doors. Watch to see if you can learn something about Greening up your own home that might save you money at the same time. 'Families go green to save big' Visit...
Global Warming is Forcing the Migration of Ecosystems
There are many amazing migrations that happen every year across the planet. The Arctic Tern holds the lead for longest regular migration, traveling 24,000 miles every year! A new type of migration may soon be taking place and unfortunately for nature, it’s not one of choice but rather one that is being forced upon the environment. Entire land ecosystems will have to move an average of 420 meters (a quarter of a mile) every year to cooler areas in order to...
Ecuador fines Chevron $8bn for polluting Amazon
An Ecuadoran court has found oil giant Chevron guilty of contaminating the South American country’s Amazon basin. A judge in an Ecuadoran court levied a fine of $8bn (€6bn) against Chevron for deaths, illnesses and monetary losses sustained by the local inhabitants of the rainforest from spills of toxic waste and crude oil. The spills are estimated by a Swedish University study to total 30bn gallons (113bn liters). This amount dwarfs the 205m gallons spilt by BP in the Gulf of...
350.org RESULTS! – Photos from climate change ‘Day of Action’
Here is the high-resolution slideshow from the worldwide climate change action event organized by 350.org on October 24th, dubbed the International Day of Climate Action. 5245 actions took place in 181 countries, receiving major media coverage and resulting in tons of inspiring and photographs and video. Check out the 350.org homepage for more news, vids and lots of great pics! < Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR. By Graham Land Additional resources: Guardian – The 350.org climate change worldwide protest slideshow New York Times – Across City,...
Climate change isn’t fun: David Mitchell’s Soap Box
Last week I posted Bill Maher’s recent rant on climate change denial. Now it’s comedian, occasional columnist and star of Peep Show David Mitchell’s turn to vent on climate change, which he does so in his regular Guardian video feature ‘David Mitchell’s Soap Box’. As usual with anything related to climate change in the Guardian, there is a full complement of argumentative statements in the comment section following the video. I like the suggestion by one commenter that we should stop ironing...
No progress at climate talks in Bonn
According to representatives of both poor and rich nations, there has been no progress at the climate talks held in Bonn, Germany this past week. In fact there has been the opposite: regression and pessimism concerning potential progress. The EU climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard said she believes the negotiations have ‘gone backwards’. From a BBC News report: Unfortunately, what we have seen over and over this week is that some countries are walking back from progress made in Copenhagen, and what was agreed...
Wallpapers laced with pesticide touted as a safer way to combat malaria
Malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases remain a serious threat in many poor communities around the globe; fogging entire towns and neighborhoods used to be the normal practice to prevent this. That method is not only expensive and outdated; it is also impractical because it is off-target and widespread spraying makes most mosquitoes more resistant to the pesticide. Insects, wildlife and other domestic animals also remain at risk from exposure to pesticides due to fogging. More contemporary and targeted pesticide application methods...
Air Pollution and Extreme Temperatures Increase Heart Attack Risk
As if the heightened air pollution and strange temperature fluctuations of the world weren’t already big enough problems on their own, it seems another may be a result of too much exposure to them: heart attacks. According to a study conducted by Dr. Krishnan Bhaskaran of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, when temperatures are abnormally hot or cold, or on days when there is excessive air pollution, people are at greater risk of having heart attacks. For example,...
Videos: Manila flooding
photo by Zer Cabatuan (Flickr CC) The worst flooding to hit the Philippines in 3 years has left much of the capital city Manila underwater. At least 19 people have died (9 family members in a single landslide in Quezon City) and a total of 1.2 residents of metro Manila were affected by the monsoon rains. After 12 days of rain, sun was forecast for Thursday with cleanup and rescue efforts underway as of Wednesday. From the Associated Press: Manila was drenched with more...
View all articles
You can also log in to post a comment.