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Japanese parts maker studying using algae to absorb emissions
TOKYO: Major Japanese auto parts maker Denso Corp. has begun
investigating if it can use algae to absorb carbon dioxide emissions
from its factories, a company spokesman said on July 9. Denso, a key
supplier to the Toyota group, is looking at minute green algae
called “pseudochoricystis,” which can be found in hot springs,
among other places.
“The main purpose of the study
is to make the algae absorb CO2 emissions from our factories and
facilities,” the spokesman said, referring to carbon dioxide. He
said the algae also produced “light oil or biodiesel” but that
Denso had no firm plan to mass-produce light oil at the moment.
The algae uses water and carbon
dioxide for photosynthesis and makes fat and light oil.
Denso’s laboratory estimates
the algae could produce light oil equal to a maximum of 30 percent
of its weight, but the spokesman said that process was costlier than
refining light oil from crude oil.
--AFP
BMW says it will test electric
Mini for California market
BERLIN: BMW said it is preparing
to launch an electric Mini test series, following similar ventures
by its main competitors. The Munich, Germany-based group said in a
statement released on July 10 that it would produce “several
hundred cars in the Mini series in coming months” in Oxford,
England, and convert them in Germany to run on electricity.
The test models will be
introduced within 12 to 18 months, said the company.
The specialist magazine
Automotive News Europe had reported on July 7 that BMW plans to make
500 models and rent them to clients in California. California has
voted a law under which automobile companies will be permitted to
sell their models there only if they also offer one that emits no
greenhouse gases.
Most of BMW’s competitors,
including Daimler and Volkswagen, have already announced that they
plan to make electric cars.
--AFP
Toyota to build Prius hybrid
car in north america in late 2010
WASHINGTON: Toyota said on July
10 that it plans to start assembling its fuel-sipping Prius hybrid
car in the US with production slated to begin in late 2010. Toyota
announced plans to start US production of its gasoline and electric
powered hybrid car as rival US auto firms like General Motors and
Ford suffer sharp sales declines for gas-guzzling trucks, pickups
and sport-utility vehicles.
“Prius, which will join the
Kentucky-built Camry Hybrid as the second Toyota hybrid built in
North America, enables Toyota to better respond to increased
consumer demand for hybrid vehicles,” Toyota said.
US consumer demand for hybrids
and more fuel-efficient vehicles has increased in the past year as
world oil prices have spiked dramatically. The surge in oil prices
has stoked gasoline prices, making Americans more wary of the cost
of the fuel they pump into their vehicles.
A new Prius can run to around 18
kilometers per liter of fuel compared to a large SUV which may
average only 5kpl, depending on how each vehicle is driven.
Toyota said it planned to start
producing the Prius at an assembly plant presently under
construction in Blue Springs, Mississippi. The first US-produced
Prius cars are due to roll off the assembly lines in two years time.
Prius sales in the US have been
boosted by tax credits for fuel-efficient vehicles. And some states
allow Prius drivers to zip along restricted carpool lanes, normally
reserved for cars carrying several passengers, on busy highways even
if they are carrying no other passengers.
Toyota reported it sold 11,765
Prius in June, marking a 25-percent drop from a year earlier, but it
said limited production volumes had skewed its sale numbers. The
carmaker is building new plants as rival US automakers close plants
and cut back assembly operations.
--AFP
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