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Senate Hearing Scheduled on Rare Earth Materials

On Thursday, a Senate Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee will hold a hearing on rare earth minerals that are used to make clean energy products like electric vehicles, wind turbines and energy efficient lighting.  Recent developments in China, where 97 percent of the world's rare earth metals are produced, have triggered comments by lawmakers and placed additional importance on the scheduled hearing.  The New York Times reported last week that Chinese officials were blocking shipments of rare earth metals from China to Japan.  The hearing will start at 10 AM.  Location: Senate Dirksen Office Building.

 

American Power Act Proposes Massive New Focus on Natural Gas Vehicles

The American Power Act, to be released this week, would be a major boon for the natural gas vehicle market.  More specifically, the Act would:

• extend and double for 10 years the alternative fuel credits for purchasing natural gas vehicles that have a weight greater than 8,500 pounds;
• extend and double the credit for vehicles weighing less than 8,500 lbs for commercial fleet vehicles of at least ten cars and purchases of at least three natural gas vehicles;
• make it easier for hybrid natural gas/conventionally-fueled vehicles to qualify for credits;
• assist states and local governments issue tax credit bonds to finance natural gas vehicle projects (up to $3 billion in federal assistance);
• allow 100% of the cost of a natural gas vehicle manufacturing facility placed in service before Jan. 1, 2015 to be expensed and to be treated as a deduction in the taxable year in which the facility was placed in service;
• direct the Government Services Administration to study how the Federal fleet could increase the number of light-, medium-, and heavy-duty natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas vehicles in the fleet. 

Companies that stand to benefit greatly include natural gas vehicle and component suppliers such as Cummins, Westport Innovations, Clean Energy Fuels, Honda and others.

Senator Stabenow, Congressman Peters Announce Legislation to Support the Development of Advanced Technology Vehicles in America

On December 7th, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and U.S. Congressman Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced the Advanced Vehicle Technology Act of 2009 (S.2843). The Advanced Vehicle Technology Act will provide funding to the U.S. Department of Energy for advanced vehicle research and development. The funding will be available through competitive grant awards for small, medium, and large manufacturers and suppliers that develop technologies to improve the energy efficiency of vehicles. These efforts include hybrid and electrical systems; advanced batteries and energy storage devices; hydrogen and natural gas systems; refueling and recharging infrastructure; and other advanced vehicle technologies. It will also expand the development of more fuel-efficient medium and heavy duty commercial trucks.

SAE 2010 Government/Industry Meeting

SAE’s 2010 Government/Industry meeting will be held January 27-29 in Washington, DC.  Sessions will include:

- Crash Avoidance Technologies for Heavy Trucks

- Enforcement: CARS and CAFÉ

- Adding Up the Carbon of Renewable Fuels

- Second Generation Biofuels

- Front and Side Impact Crashworthiness

- Vehicle Rollover and Occupant Containment

- New Innovations in Advanced Safety Technology

- Crash Avoidance and Crash Causation

- Electricity -- The Fuel of the Future....Today?

- Return of the Plug-in Electric Vehicle -- Will the Sequel Succeed?

- Marketing Safety

- Safety Data

- Heavy-Duty Technologies & Solutions to Improve Efficiency and Emissions

- What's Next for Heavy-Duty Engine Regulations?

- Child Safety

- Pedestrian Safety

- Alternative Fuel Vehicle Safety

- Light-Duty Powertrain Strategies -- Are IC Engines Taking a Back Seat?

- Biomechanics

- Who Pays for the High-Fuel Economy Vehicles of the Future?

- Distraction

For information on the upcoming meeting, go to http://www.sae.org/events/gim/.

American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009 (S.1462)

On July 16, 2009, Senator Bingaman introduced comprehensive energy legislation that includes the following vehicle-related sections:

Subtitle E – Vehicle Technology Deployment

Sec. 151 – Transportation Roadmap Study

Sec. 152 – Vehicle technology and recharging infrastructure

Sec. 153 – Electric drive transportation standardization

Sec. 154 – Pilot program for plug-in hybrid drive vehicles for federal fleets

Sec. 155 – Study of end of useful life options for motor vehicle batteries.

Sec. 422 – Domestic vehicle battery manufacturing research

Sec. 423 – Lightweight materials research.

The bill was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar on 7/16 under General Orders.