Nissan Leaf

The Nissan Leaf is an electric car announced by Nissan in 2009. It is expected to be marketed in North America, Europe, and Japan, beginning in late 2010.

EV-11 prototype:
The EV-11 prototype electric car was based on the Nissan Tiida platform, but uses an all-electric drive train including an 80 kW (110 hp) electric motor, 24kWh lithium-ion battery pack rated to have a range of 100 miles (160 km).
Production:
The U.S. Department of Energy has granted $99.8 million to Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation for the EV Project, involving the installation of up to 11,210 charging stations in strategic markets.
Price:
Although an exact price has not been announced, the car is expected to cost 34000-45000€. The Leaf's pricing will be announced in April 2010

Venturi Fetish

One of the stars of the 21st International Electric Vehicles Symposium (EVS21) to be held in Monte Carlo next week will be the world’s most exclusive electric car – the Venturi Fetish. Assembled by hand in Monaco and made to order, the Fetish has an asking price of 450,000 Euro (US$583,000) - not bad for a vehicle which can legitimately claim the title of being the first production electric sports car in history.

The Venturi Fetish concept car was first unveiled at the 2002 Geneva Motor Show, and went on to be one of the stars of the 2002 Paris Motor Show and 2003 Detroit Motor Show - an electric sportcar concept of French design. Buoyed by public enthusiasm and the brand's 20th anniversary, Venturi took the Fetish one step further in 2004, putting the car into production and first selling the car in the Japanese market in November.

Having integrated the standards for Europe, Japan and the USA from conception, the Fetish went on sale in the United States in January 2005 - the company having identified Tokyo and Los Angeles as the markets most sensitive to environmental issues. Paris, London and Monte-Carlo have been selected as the main target markets in Europe where the car can be ordered now.

Similar to other electric-powered concept/show cars, the new car is designed to overcome the public's perceived opinion that electric cars lack performance, style and range, though with a maximum speed of just 170kmh, the Fetish is unlikely to start cutting into supercar sales any time soon.

The Fetish does however offer outstanding acceleration thanks to the linear torque curve of the 180Kw electric motor, accelerating from 0 to 100Km/h in less than 5 seconds, just like that other electric car we were so excited about, the Tango. The engine spins to 14,000rpm and has adjustable engine braking.

Venturi has also gone to great lengths to ensure a healthy 350 Km range with a rapid battery recharge (with 80 Amps) of 1.6 Km a minute or 10 minutes recharge for every 16 Km.

Under the technical direction of Gerard Ducarouge, chief engineer of the project, Venturi has taken a different approach to most other companies in the electric car business in designing the Fetish. Most such vehicles use an electric motor to drive each wheel, whereas Ducarouge has opted for a single centrally-positioned engine and a monocoque carbon chassis, to keep weight to 1100 Kg.

Ducarouge has placed the 350 kg Lithium-Ion battery unit at the epicentre of the automobile and Venturi, renowned for the superb handling of its cars, has apparently achieved precision, sports car handling with the vehicle.

Nissan Leaf

Nissan will start taking reservations for the Leaf electric vehicle in April, start building them by October and have the first of them rolling into driveways in December.

Specifications

The Leaf uses a front-mounted electric motor driving the wheels, powered by a 24 kWh/90 kW lithium ion battery pack. The expected cruising range is the same as the EV-11 prototype, as is the motor. The battery pack is made of air-cooled stacked modules.

Price and sales

Although an exact price has not been announced, the car is expected to cost US$25,000–33,000. The Leaf's pricing will be announced in April 2010, and Nissan will sell or lease the Leaf only with batteries included, forgoing the initial idea of leasing batteries to reduce the price of the car.

Nissan LEAF - Technische Daten

• length: 4.445 Millimeter
• width: 1.770 Millimeter
• height: 1.550 Millimeter
• wheelbase: 2.700 Millimeter

Motor

• Type: electromotor (AC)
• power: 80 kW
• torisional: 280 Newtonmeter
• range: 160 Kilometer / 100 Meilen (US LA4)
• maximum speed: over 140 km/h (90 mph)

Chevrolet Volt

Volt is an electric car that can create its own electricity. Plug it in, let it charge overnight, and it’s ready to run on a pure electric charge for up to 40 miles — gas and emissions free. After that, Volt keeps going, even if you can’t plug it in. Volt uses a range-extending gas generator that produces enough energy to power it for hundreds of miles on a single tank of gas.

Technology
Volt is an electric vehicle with a range extender. Well, what does that mean? It means Volt runs on electricity from its battery, and then it runs on electricity it creates from gas. Let's assume you have a fully charged battery. Now, depending on the weather, the electrical features that are turned on and how you drive, you can drive up to 40 miles on the electricity stored in the battery — totally gas and emissions free. After that, its gas-powered, range-extending generator automatically kicks in to provide electrical power. So Volt can go for several hundred additional miles, until you can plug it in or fill it up again.

Power Grid
The power that you use for heating, cooling, cooking, refrigeration, light, sound, computers and entertainment comes to your house from the power plant through a network of transmissions and distribution power lines called the power grid. Various sources generate this power: wind, sunlight, water, natural gas, coal, oil and biofuels. You can see evidence of the power grid every time you drive past an electricity pole and see power lines. To put it simply, the power grid is the system by which electricity is brought to your home.

Christoph Zodl

The Tesla Roadster
The Roadster is the only highway-capable electric automobile for sale as of early 2010; all other highway-capable EVs are prototypes or evaluation series from automakers that are trying to determine whether to go forward with an electric vehicle program. The Roadster has a base price of €84,000. Next you will see some interesting questions about the Tesla Roadster.
When Do You Charge?
You charge your Tesla Roadster the same way you charge your cellular phone: You plug it into a wall socket whenever convenient. The vast majority of Tesla owners charge overnight. Each morning they wake up with the equivalent of a “full tank,” without ever visiting a gas station.
How Do You Charge?
Charging your Roadster is easy with one of our three connectors. The Roadster's charger is on board the car, integrated into the powertrain. That means you can plug it into conventional 120-volt outlets or 240-volt outlets that electric clothes dryers use.
How Far Can You Drive On A Charge?
Driving in normal conditions (mixed city and highway conditions in a range of temperatures) results in “real world” range of 244 miles per charge. In fact, in October 2009 the Roadster set an EV record when owner, Simon Hackett, drove his car 313 miles on a single charge during the 10th Annual Global Green Challenge in Australia.

Christoph Zodl

United Nations Environment Programme

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and encourages sustainable development through sound environmental practices. It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and has its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. UNEP also has six regional offices and various country offices.

UNEP is the designated authority of the United Nations system in environmental issues at the global and regional level. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. The mandate and objectives of UNEP emanate from United Nations General Assembly resolution 2997 (XXVII) of 15 December 1972 and subsequent amendments adopted at UNCED in 1992, the Nairobi Declaration on the Role and Mandate of UNEP, adopted at the Nineteenth Session of the UNEP Governing Council, and the Malmö Ministerial Declaration of 31 May 2000.

Its activities cover a wide range of issues regarding the atmosphere, marine and terrestrial ecosystems. It has played a significant role in developing international environmental conventions, promoting environmental science and information and illustrating the way those can work in conjunction with policy, working on the development and implementation of policy with national governments and regional institution and working in conjunction with environmental Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). UNEP has also been active in funding and implementing environmentally related development projects.

UNEP has aided in the development of guidelines and treaties on issues such as the international trade in potentially harmful chemicals, transboundary air pollution, and contamination of international waterways.

The World Meteorological Organization and the UNEP established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988. UNEP is also one of several Implementing Agencies for the Global Environment Facility (GEF).