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Posts Tagged ‘Alternative Fuels’

Hydrogen Fuels Could be a Success for the UK

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

Hydrogen powered vehicles are now looking increasingly likely, especially in the commercial vehicle sector. Hydrogen commercial vehicles would slash pollution and emissions by an incredible amount and I personally think this could be by far and away the best alternative fuel yet!

Hydrogen Project

The government has launched a new project which is intended to assess the potential of hydrogen as a fuel source, and if the project emerges to be a success then a finished hydrogen fuel product could be rolled out for 2014 onwards, and we will then quickly see more and more hydrogen powered vans on our streets amongst other hydrogen powered vehicles.

Imagine a hydrogen powered bus, for example. If one in five buses in London alone were powered by hydrogen then emissions would be reduced massively which would be fantastic news for the environment of course.

Analysis and Assessment

The government’s project is also intended to analyse the viability of developing sufficient infrastructure in order to incorporate refuelling points for hydrogen powered vehicles and to assess the economic benefits the country on the whole could gain from using the gas as an alternative fuel. It could, for a start, lower commercial vehicle insurance quotes.

Mark Prisk, Business Minister, has been commenting that the UK could become a key market for low-carbon vehicles, and he was quoted saying: “Hydrogen vehicles are increasingly being recognised as one of the viable options as we move to a lower carbon motoring future. It is vitally important that we identify what is required to make these cars a realistic proposition for UK consumers.” The difficulty it would seem is not in harnessing the fuel, but perhaps in building the correct facilities for it to be distributed nationwide.

Backing for the Project

Meanwhile, the initiative to move to commercial hydrogen vehicles has been backed by a number of gas, infrastructure and utility companies in the UK. The new initiative to launch hydrogen vehicles has been named UKH2Mobility and will also research how jobs can be created by the move into hydrogen fuels. Jerry Hardcastle, Head of Design at Nissan, has been explaining: “Hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles…could represent a large segment of the UK market in the coming years.” It would indeed be brilliant if thousands of jobs were created by the new plans, especially at a time when unemployment has been on the rise!

Hydrogen fuels, it seems, will not only be a great achievement for the environment, but for the UK economy too!

Tags: Alternative Fuels, commercial vehicle insurance, Government, Hydrogen Fuel
Posted in Alternative Fuel, commercial vehicle insurance | No Comments »

Plug-In Van Grant Available

Friday, January 20th, 2012

There is a new Plug-In Van Grant that has been made available in order to accompany the existing car grant as part of the government’s efforts to encourage “cleaner” methods of transport. The new grant will hopefully reduce the cost of eligible vans by around 20% on models of up to £8,000, and so this is sure to be a popular decision by the government.

Attempt to Reduce Emissions

Earlier this week we were wondering whether electric vans would really work in this country, and of course they would to some extent, and now with this grant scheme, it would seem the government is attempting to make cleaner commercial vehicles more appealing in order to achieve widespread usage, and therefore lower emissions.

In order for a van to be eligible for the grant scheme, it must emit less than 75g/km CO2 and be able to do at least 60 miles between charges. The vehicle must also be approved by “European Vehicle Type Approval” to ensure that it is indeed safe.

Norman Baker, the Transport Minister, has been quoted saying: “The Plug-In Van Grant, alongside the existing Plug-In Car Grant, is designed to help private individuals and businesses adopt new, cleaner technology. Businesses, especially those with fleets, will be a key driver in increasing the market share of ultra-low emission vehicles.”

Reducing Costs

This added grant is of course great news for those van owners that are currently hunting for a new van, and those that are looking to cut costs may find themselves handsomely rewarded with some great savings on fuel and van insurance quotes, along with road tax and general long term maintenance costs too.

Furthermore, Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive, has been very upbeat with regard to the new government grant: “The Plug-In Car Grant and the new Plug-In Van Grant send a strong signal to the global automotive industry about the UK’s determination to be a leading market for ultra-low carbon vehicles. We will reap significant industrial and environmental benefits from establishing an early and flourishing ultra-low carbon vehicle market, attracting high value investment in R&D, innovation and automotive manufacturing.”

It will be interesting to monitor commercial vehicle sales over the coming months in order to see how the grant helps to increase sales in the commercial vehicle sector.

Tags: Alternative Fuels, Carbon Emissions, Plug-In Van Grant, SMMT, van insurance quotes
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Electric Transit Connect

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011

On Monday we blogged about the news that the much loved, and incredibly successful, Ford Transit van was going to be built in the US as of 2013 onwards, and now, today, we bring you the news that the green Transit is to be updated for 2012. Yes that’s right, the new all electric Ford Transit is on the horizon.

The Transit Connect is primarily aimed at fleet owners who want to save on fuel and maintenance costs, and Torque News has been discussing the van after performing a road test.

No Longer a Pipedream

The original electric van was a very interesting step by Ford in their bid to become an environmentally friendly manufacturer, much like many other vehicle manufacturers these days.

The 2012 Connect will have an electric drive train, which has been designed by Azure Dynamics, which is a company with a rich history in electric vehicle design that dates back to the early 90s; a time when electric cars were a mere pipedream for a futuristic world. We are now, it seems, living in that futuristic world and electric cars are no longer a pipedream, but a reality.

Here Come the Stats

The Connect will come fitted with a Siemens AC motor, an AC controller, and a battery pack from Johnson Controls. The battery pack, Azure Dynamics has claimed, will achieve a range of 60-80 miles, which isn’t bad at all! This will however depend on how heavy the vehicle is at the time.

The commercial vehicle will take around 6-8 hours to charge and will reach 75 mph, which is more than enough when you consider that this particular van will be used in towns and cities by those who have larger fleets of vans. Of course, whilst saving owners money on their fuel, the van is also very likely to have a lower commercial vehicle insurance premium.

Alternative Fuels

With alternative fuels being developed in order to one day replace petrol and diesel it is great to see the big players focusing on producing electric vehicles alongside their petrol and diesel alternatives. Or is it? Electric vehicles do consume a huge amount of energy when being built. They also consume a huge amount of electricity once on the road, and ultimately a huge proportion of electricity is produced through the burning of fossil fuels, which causes a vast amount of pollution, and is the very resource that is running out resulting in the search for alternative fuels. Perhaps electric cars are not such a great alternative after all?

It’s certainly an interesting issue, and it would be great to hear your thoughts on it.

Tags: Alternative Fuels, commercial vehicle insurance, Diesel, electric Vans, Ford, Ford Transit, Petrol
Posted in commercial vehicle insurance | 2 Comments »