There isn’t a whole lot of groundbreaking news like there was last week, so I’ll cover a few quick things: Tesla and Boeing (nee McDonald-Douglas), Sharp’s Solar PV a bright spot and microturbines in EREVs.
Boeing might be selling their Long Beach factory (which was a McDonald-Douglas factory before that) to Tesla for Model S production. Since large scale model S production is still a few years away, they would be using the factory for movie shoots in the interim. Though the idea that they will build the Model S in the same place they once built jets does sound really cool (sorry if the aviation nerd in me is showing). [from The District via AutoBlogGreen]
Sharp’s earnings came in negative for 2008, the first time the company has posted a annual loss in 100 years. The only division to make a profit? The Solar PV division, with 4% year over year growth, while other groups were hurt hard by contracting demand in the consumer segment. Sharp expects to return to profitability this year. [from Recharge News]
Finally, an Isreali company named ETV Motors have secured financing for a microturbine that would burn gasoline more efficiently and in a smaller size (at about the same weight) than a traditional internal combustion engine. There are issues – the high RPMs of turbine engines (80,000 RPM) and high temperature (1000°C) are not something people deal with in cars now. Also, the specified turbine power generation numbers (20kW/60kW) are somwhat low for what might be needed for EREV usage – the Volt’s generator is 53kW, but larger vehicles will need generators up to 100kW. [from Green Car Congress]
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