Portable chargers, boosters to ease green car woes

Mar 11, 2012 by Peter Kenny
A Renault Zoe electric car is displayed at the French carmaker's booth at the 82nd Geneva Motor Show on March 7, 2012 in Geneva.

Chevrolet Europe's president Susan Doherty drives to work every day in an electric car, and thanks to a recharging station at work, she never worries about running out of power.

For most other people, however, it remains a challenge to find electric charging stations to refuel.

As a result sales of have lagged, with most consumers going for hybrid options that at least offer the possibility of running on petrol or diesel.

But with interest in going green growing among consumers, and with tougher to kick in from 2013 across the European Union, companies are beginning to introduce new solutions.

At this year's , several car components firms exhibited portable chargers while others announced deals with major automakers to build more charging stations to ease refueling headaches.

After all, "electricity is the way to go in the future especially if we want to have ," Doherty said.

Swiss firm Alpiq E-Mobility AG announced an agreement with Toyota to fit charging infrastructure at its 250 dealers across Switzerland.

In addition, it will also offer a to go with each of Toyota's best-selling hybrid car Prius.

It is an "an important step towards establishing e-mobility in our country," said Alpiq managing director Peter Arnet.

Another Swiss company, Green Motion, exhibited several types of chargers at the show, ranging from a portable gadget that weighs just 6 kilogrammes (13 pounds) to a 210 kilogramme installation which looks much like a petrol pump.

"People will want to charge at home," a spokeswoman for the firm said, as she showcased the portable version.

British company, Controlled Power Technologies, however, had another solution.

Rather than offering chargers, it showcased an that would allow a car to run with the same power as a larger one even though it was using a smaller engine.

"We offer the economy of a diesel, low C02 emissions and the performance of a two litre engine at an affordable price," said the company's chief executive Nick Pascoe.

Despite substituting a two litre engine on a Volkswagen Passat with a 1.4 litre one, the company's booster gave the greater pulling power, while at the same time meeting tougher emission standards, he told AFP.

"Instead of adding thousands of euros to the cost we add tens of euros," Pascoe added.

Manufacturers are progressively having to increase the percentage of cars they sell in the European Union with carbon emissions below 130 grams per kilometre, with passenger cars to meet this level by 2015.

Explore further: German energy shift faces headwinds

add to favorites email to friend print save as pdf

Related Stories

Toyota, BMW strike green-car technology pact

Dec 01, 2011

Automakers Toyota and BMW on Thursday struck a partnership to share eco-friendly technologies, including in the joint development of lithium-ion batteries for next-generation electric cars, the companies said.

Spectrum of green cars eye LA auto show crown

Nov 16, 2011

Five environmentally friendly cars are vying for the crown of Green Car of the Year at the LA Auto Show this week -- each using different fuel or fuel combinations.

Toyota taking orders in Japan for Prius plug-in

Nov 29, 2011

Toyota will begin taking orders Tuesday for the plug-in version of its hit Prius hybrid, announcing efficient mileage and a relatively affordable starting price of 3.2 million yen ($41,000), which comes down with green vehicle ...

Green car makers urged to go a step further

Mar 04, 2009

Four international bodies on Wednesday called on governments and car makers to halve global vehicle emissions by 2050 as the auto industry insisted it was serious about producing greener vehicles.

Toyota to unveil new hybrid model at motor show

Nov 15, 2011

Toyota Motor said Tuesday it would unveil a new compact hybrid car at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show, boasting improved fuel efficiency amid intensifying competition to build more eco-friendly vehicles.

Recommended for you

German energy shift faces headwinds

19 minutes ago

Tense engineers have their eyes peeled on complex colour-coded diagrams on a wall-sized screen that makes their control room look like the inside of a spaceship.

Morocco to harness the wind in energy hunt

21 hours ago

Morocco is ploughing ahead with a programme to boost wind energy production, particularly in the southern Tarfaya region, where Africa's largest wind farm is set to open in 2014.

Energy-positive with natural ventilation

May 17, 2013

Buildings can be air-conditioned using entirely natural means, without mechanical ventilation systems. This is the claim made by 78-year-old Benjamin Bronsema, who will be awarded his PhD for his thesis on the subject at ...

User comments : 0

More news stories

Internet in 'coma' as Iran election looms

Iran is tightening control of the Internet ahead of next month's presidential election, mindful of violent street protests that social networkers inspired last time around over claims of fraud, users and ...

German energy shift faces headwinds

Tense engineers have their eyes peeled on complex colour-coded diagrams on a wall-sized screen that makes their control room look like the inside of a spaceship.

China police billions spell profit opportunity

Mannequins in riot gear, armoured cars and drones line a police equipment and "anti-terrorism technology" trade fair in Beijing as vendors seek to profit from China's huge internal security budget.

Russia retrieves mice, newts from space

A Russian capsule filled with 45 mice and 15 newts along with other small animals returned from a month's mission in orbit on Sunday with data scientists hope will pave the way for a manned flight to Mars.

Honeybees trained in Croatia to find land mines

(AP)—Mirjana Filipovic is still haunted by the land mine blast that killed her boyfriend and blew off her left leg while on a fishing trip nearly a decade ago. It happened in a field that was supposedly ...

Galaxy's Ring of Fire

Johnny Cash may have preferred this galaxy's burning ring of fire to the one he sang about falling into in his popular song. The "starburst ring" seen at center in red and yellow hues is not the product of ...