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Recharge Wrap-up: Panasonic, Tesla on Gigafactory deal?

Bentley has been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard for reductions of carbon, water use and waste production in manufacturing. The Carbon Trust is an organization that helps groups such as businesses and governments reduce carbon emissions, use of energy and resources, and waste output. From 2011 to 2013, Bentley reduced CO2 emissions by 16 percent per car manufactured, curtailed water use by 35.7 percent, and saw significant waste reductions. Darran Messem of Carbon trust says, "Bentley is clearly passionate about continuing to improve its environmental performance, which is reflected by the fact the company has consistently invested in new technology." Read more in the press release below. Chevrolet is giving 12 Volts to MBAs Across America. The organization will use the range-extended electric cars in its efforts to help MBA students learn from and work with small business owners. As part of the MBAs Across America program's first year, four students drove 8,000 miles to provide entrepreneurs with free business counseling. The program has expanded, and this year, teams of MBAs will use the Volts to travel to 25 cities to offer their services. Learn more about the partnership between Chevrolet and MBAs Across America in the press release below. A professor from the University of Michigan has found fuel cycle analysis to be too flawed to be relied upon for measuring CO2 impacts of transportation fuels. Professor John DeCicco of the university's Energy Institute feels that the flaws in calculating the carbon footprint of liquid fuel production and combustion make such lifecycle analysis impractical. He suggests, instead, to focus to carbon capture. Since capturing CO2 directly from a vehicle is probably never going to happen, DiCicco believes the solution is to capture carbon from the atmosphere in sectors outside of transportation. Says DiCicco, "Research should be ramped up on options for increasing the rate at which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and on programs to manage and utilize carbon fixed in the biosphere, which offers the best CO2 removal mechanism now at hand. Such strategies can complement measures that control the demand for liquid fuels by reducing travel activity, improving vehicle efficiency and shifting to non-carbon fuels." Read more at Green Car Congress. Global transportation energy consumption is expected to increase by 25.4 percent by 2035, according to a report by Navigant Research.

Tesla will build first Gigafactory in Nevada

After months of guessing, the location of the first massive Tesla battery plant should be announced around 24 hours from now. A joint press conference has been called by Tesla and the Nevada Governor's office for tomorrow afternoon and the subject is likely to be that the so-called Gigafactory will be built in Reno, NV. Reno was first confirmed as a serious candidate for one of the Gigafacatory locations during Tesla's most recent shareholder call at the end of July, when the automaker said it had broken ground on a potential location there. Speculation was swirling before that that Reno would be chosen first. Tesla wouldn't directly confirm what the subject of tomorrow's announcement would be, but did give AutoblogGreen a statement that said, "Tesla looks forward to joining Governor Sandoval and legislative leaders tomorrow in Carson City at 4 pm for a major economic development announcement." We'll let you decide. When it announced the $4-5-billion Gigafactory, Tesla said it would provide up to 6,500 jobs and make enough batteries to supply 500,000 Tesla electric vehicles a year, in particular the company's next vehicle, the lower-cost Tesla Model 3. Of course, Tesla also said it would not announce the location of the battery plant until "late 2014," so we'll take everything with a grain of salt for now. Recently, the California Budget Project suggested the five states in the running for the first Gigafactory should work together so as to not give too many tax benefits to Tesla. We should find out tomorrow how much Nevada "spent" to attract the new battery plant and a host of other details. **Media Advisory** Governor Brian Sandoval to Host Press Conference for Major Economic Development Announcement Contact Mari St. Martin Communications Director (702) 250-8210 mstmartin@gov.nv.gov Carson City, NV - September 03, 2014 Governor Brian Sandoval will host a press conference tomorrow, Thursday, September 4th, for a major economic development announcement. TIME: 4:00 p.m. WHAT: Press Conference WHO: TBD LOCATION: Capitol Building 101 Carson Street Carson City, NV 89701 MEDIA: RSVP to confirm location Press set-up to begin 30 minutes before press conference ### Office of the Governor . 101 North Carson Street . Carson City, NV 89701 . (775) 684-5670 Grant Sawyer State Office Building . 555 East Washington, Ste 5100 . Las Vegas, NV 89101 . (702) 486-2500

Recharge Wrap-up: Electric Bayliner conversion, China considers EV mandates

An electric mobility enthusiast converted a Bayliner boat to electric power. Using 10 Tesla modules to build a 32-kWh battery pack, Scott Masterson's 2016 Bayliner 175 now uses an electric motor in place of the original 3.0-liter Mercruiser engine. With a top speed of about 53 mph and a range of about 25 miles, Masterson can enjoy a nice cruise on the water without the accompanying gas fumes. He says the conversion wasn't all that complicated, and it took him about three months of part-time work. Check it out in the video above, and read more at Electrek. Audi's updates to the 2017 A3 include the E-Tron plug-in hybrid. Inside the car, it will likely get Audi's "Virtual Cockpit" instrument display. The MMI infotainment system will be updated, with available Apple Carplay and Android Auto functionality. Slight changes to the headlights, taillights, and grille will make up the bulk of the exterior visual changes. Its powertrain will remain unaltered from the 2016 model, including its 83 MPGe combined rating and 16 miles of all-electric driving range. Read more at Green Car Reports. Hyundai has delivered its first hydrogen-powered car to Quebec. The Centre de Gestion de l'Equipment Roulant (Rolling Stock Management Center), which manages the province's government fleets, took delivery of a 2016 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell. It is leased in partnership with the University of Quebec's Hydrogen Research Institute of Trois-Rivieres, where the vehicle will be refueled. Read more from Green Car Congress. China is considering mandates for cleaner cars similar to those imposed by California. Unlike its current subsidy-based incentives, China could potentially require automakers to either produce or import more electric vehicles or purchase carbon credits from automakers that do. A draft of the legislation from the National Development and Reform Commission would fine non-compliant automakers at five times the price of the credits. "Without question, this will be good for the industry and will promote the development of all types of clean-energy vehicles," says China Association of Automobile Manufacturers Deputy Secretary General Ye Shengji. Compliance would be voluntary for smaller automakers. Read more from Automotive News.