Algae is a renewable resource with lots of potential

Here at the Green-Racer office we recently had an argument about long-term human sustainability. We focused on the inevitable food shortages resulting from a population expected to reach 9 billion by 2040. My suggestion – we all need to start eating algae. It’s a renewable resource, it’s very healthy, it grows fast, and it grows in the ocean so it doesn’t take up land area. World crisis averted.

Yes, algae can be used to create biofuel.

Now comes the even better news. Algae can be used to make biofuels and yes, it can fuel your vehicle. Some are betting that algae-based biodiesel fuels will fuel our future cars. These biofuels have the potential to be high-yield, efficiently produced, renewable fuels. In combustion of biodiesel and straight vegetable oil (SVO), formation of pollutants such as NOx and soot are concern enough that $325,000 was just granted to Anthony Marchase and Azer Yalin from the National Science Foundation to determine the pollutant formation chemistry of algae-derived biofuels. The study is to determine what the consequences would be if we suddenly went from zero to 20 billion gallons of algae-based biofuel per year over the next 20 years. The study will perform combustion and pollution experiments in a controlled environment to study exhaust particles and gasses. I wonder if these tests were done in the 1880′s when the first mass-produced internal combustion engined motorcoaches were being produced. I guess at the very least we’ve learned to study the effects of new technologies and the foresight to reconsider implementing polluting ones.

If you follow Le Mans at all, we don’t need to tell you last year was a bit of an upset for Audi. For the first time in five years, the company gave up the gold to rival Peugeot. In fact, Audi has won the legendary 24 hour race eight times in the last 10 years. Despite the Pug’s victory last year, the company filed a formal complaint against Audi, saying its R15 racer used illegal design elements. The sanctioning body agreed, and now Audi is developing an R15 TDI Plus. Aside from taking care of the problematic design elements, Audi’s also signed three new drivers to helm a third car.

Two of the drivers have some history in the cockpit of an Audi. Swiss driver Marcel Fassler ran a total of two races for the quad rings back in 2008 during the American Le Mans Series. Likewise, German Andre Lotterer campaigned a privateer Audi R10 TDI during last year’s running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It’s no surprise to see Audi picking from its own ranks, even Fassler and Lotterer come from the fringes of the company’s banner. More surprising is the third driver – Benoit Treluyer.

Treluyer was one of nine drivers who made up Peugeot’s winning team last year. Neither Pegueot or Treluyer are saying much about the swap, but running a total of three cars, one with a host of fresh new talent is bound to improve Audi’s chances at this year’s race. Unfortunately, the company’s new R15 TDI Plus won’t be ready in time for the 12 Hours of Sebring – a traditional shake down race in preparation for Le Mans. Even worse for Audi, Peugeot won’t allow a modified 2009 R15 TDI to run in the race, leaving Ingolstadt to run the 24 hour race cold.

This should be one hell of an interesting season.

Source Audi

Good news for our cousins across the pond. Audi has just announced the release of a new version of its excellent A3 compact hatch. The company says the car is the cleanest, most economical premium compact on the market right now. Just how thrifty is it? The new A3 can manage a staggering 74.3 mpg. That’s an impressive figure by anyone’s standards, but even more interesting is how Audi went about achieving that number. Instead of a heavy battery pack and electric motor, the four rings went with what it knows best – a clean diesel engine.

A 1.6-liter diesel is paired with a start/stop system to reduce idling consumption, and a rash of other changes help up the efficiency as well. Audi ditched the huge wheels for smaller 15-inch rollers, dropped the car’s ride height significantly and reworked the transmission for an optimal final drive. Audi’s only offering the car as a three door hatch with a manual gear box to keep the weight low. Even better, there’s very little sacrifice in terms of performance. The squeaky clean A3 delivers a 0-60 run in the 11.4 second range and can work itself up to around 121 mph.

Sadly enough, this A3 is just like its brothers. Don’t expect to see it stateside anytime soon.

Source Audi

Big sedans with thrifty clean diesel engines are par for the course across the pond, but around here buyers just can’t seem to get out of the V8 rut. That’s exactly why European S-Class buyers may be able to look forward for a new diesel and we can’t. Mercedes-Benz is supposedly interested in selling the S-Class with a new clean diesel four-cylinder. Though a 2.2-liter engine may seem like an odd choice for a sprawling expanse of German luxury, rumor has it the tiny mill will get a shot in the arm from two turbochargers.

With the lords of forced induction lending a hand, the engine should be good for a modest 201 horsepower and a stump-pulling 384 lb-ft of torque. Those figures should be more than enough to glide the car’s 4,600 lbs along without issue. This all comes from Autocar, so who knows whether Mercedes-Benz has any actual plans to give S-Class buyers a down-sized engine or not.

We do know it’s pretty unlikely the car will ever show up in the United States if it does go into production. Amercian buyers can’t get the taste of bad GM diesels out of their mouths, and Mercedes-Benz already sells an “efficient” S400 Hybrid.

Source Autocar via Autoblog

The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup is currently the only professional green motor sport series that is running here in the United States, which makes it pretty special. Over the course of the 2009 season,  a film crew was present to capture the drivers and teams as they participated in this groundbreaking racing event. Shot completely in high def, the documentary explores the lives of the series’ twenty five drivers on and off the track, and also takes a look at the technology that powers the automobiles on the racetrack.

The documentary will air on the Discovery Channel, Planet Green, The Science Channel, and HD Theater between January 18th and the 31st, 2010.

One of the most exciting developments in the world of Volkswagen over the past year has to be the Bluesport concept, a beautiful little two seater that could contribute a great deal towards redefining diesel powered vehicles in the minds of US consumers.

The car has a lot more to offer than stylish sheet metal, as it is powered by a Golf sourced four cylinder TDI engine mated to a DSG six speed transmission and has an energy reclaiming braking system. This, combined with a sub 2600 pound curb weight, allows the car to reach 60 mph in just under six seconds and achieve an average combined mpg in the mid 40s. Given the car’s branding and position in the VW auto group line up, against the premium priced Porsche Boxter and Audi TT, the sticker price should be pretty low as well.

Autocar is reporting that the company will be reaching a final decision on the Bluesport in the coming months, and I certainly hope that we see the production version of the car soon. Current global economic slow down may imply a reduced demand for any vehicle as impractical as a sports car, but the high mpg and small size, combined with a low sticker price and the general desire of consumers to go places quickly could bode well for the Bluesport.

Stay tuned on this one.

In spite of our coverage of several distinctly green developments relating to the four rings from Ingolstadt over the past week, it appears that the company is not following other automakers by focusing most of its energy on going green.

“We will stick to our Vorsprung Durch Technik philosophy,” Audi boss Rupert Stadler stated at the LA Auto Show this week. “We want to take out weight and want to further diesel and FSI technology. We can still improve fuel consumption. But we will not position Audi as a green car brand – we will fulfill regulations – but we are also an emotional brand.”

Essentially, what Stadler is promising is that the heart of what people want out of their Audis will not be compromised in order to achieve a higher mpg or the best emissions ratings possible. The focus of their cars, which are beloved both for their performance and handling, will remain.

Vehicles like the E-Tron concept represent explorations into the world of alternative fuels that will advise the company on how to improve the capabilities of existing technology, like the legendary Quattro all wheel drive system, but a purely electric powered vehicle will not be made available until it is able to “achieve the appropriate emotional appeal” of Audi’s traditional offerings.

Audi is clearly keeping its head in a world that is increasingly seeing green.

Green Car Journal just named the 2010 Audi A3 TDI the Green Car of the Year. Please, put your eyebrows down. If you’ve been lucky enough to find yourself behind the wheel of Audi’s stylish little diesel wagon, you know there’s plenty to love. The 2.0-liter turbo diesel four-cylinder delivers a modest 140 horsepower and heaps of torque. As in a full 236 lb-ft in U.S. spec. That’s more than enough power to scoot the car and its excellent interior along in a hurry, and the six-speed dual-clutch gear box makes clicking through the gears a blast. Best of all, the notoriously conservative EPA says the A3 TDI is good for up to 42 mpg highway – all without any of the heavy batteries of a hybrid system.

The honor is just the latest in a number of green-tilted accolades to fall on Audi as of late. The company has been quietly underscoring the benefits of its clean-diesel technology, hoping eco-minded consumers will take notice. Will American buyers respond? With cars like the A3 TDI, it’s hard to imagine they won’t.

Source Audi

I’m not sure how I missed this story over on Autoblog Green yesterday, but I did. Capstone Technologies, a California based company that is well known for having its turbines employed in hybrid vehicles, has brought a concept super car to the LA auto show this week. The CMT – 380 uses the same lithium ion battery and turbine combination that powered the company’s Whisper concept vehicle and the performance specs are pretty impressive. The car you see above will reach 60 mph in 3.9 seconds and cover 500 miles between fill ups. What’s more, the CMT is able to travel 80 miles using purely electric power.

There are  currently no plans to produce the car you see above, which is actually an after market body placed over a custom frame.

The latest rendition of Audi’s top end luxury sedan, the A8, was unveiled yesterday at the temporarily erected Audi Pavilion in the design district of Miami. A classy debut for a stunning auto, no question, but the devil is certainly in the details. What sets this latest exclusive offering apart from its predecessor and its competition?

Since we are a green performance site, i’ll jump straight to the facts and figures: Audi is claiming an estimated 15% increase in fuel efficiency over the previous generation A8 and a sprint from 0 to 62 mph in 5.7 seconds. This would mean average combined fuel consumption rate of just under 21 mpg and a sprint to 60 that is a slight improvement over the previous gen A8. The figures are impressive, especially considering that the drive train in the new car is almost identical to that of the old one, the curb weight remains unchanged, and the overall dimensions of the car are larger. It is pretty clear that Audi’s push towards incorporating aluminum space frame technology into their automobiles is paying dividends with each successive redesign.

Audi remained tight lipped about any alternate fuel variants of the latest A8, choosing to focus on the performance and luxury offered by the flagship V8 model instead. They did say that such models would be announced closer to the car’s release to dealers later next year. My bet is that we will see an engine very similar to the diesel that the company is using in the much heavier current generation Q7 TDI SUV introduced to the A8 range in 2011.

I guess time will tell.

Image courtesy of Autoblog.