http://www.justmeans.com/press-relea...CO2/11892.html
American Honda Installs Stationary Fuel Cell System that Will Produce a Megawatt of Clean Energy, Reduce CO2
Torrance, Calif., March 22, 2013 /3BL Media/ – Continuing its efforts to reduce the environmental footprint of its operations, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. today announced the installation of a new fuel cell system on its Torrance, California campus that will produce one megawatt of clean, reliable energy, and significantly reduce CO2 emissions from Honda’s operations in the region.
The fuel cell system consists of five energy servers each producing 200 kilowatts of power, and will provide 25 percent of Honda’s electricity needs for its 1.13 million square feet of office space, research, design and development operations, and parts distribution center on the 101 acre campus. The power generated by the fuel cell system would power approximately 750 average-sized homes each day.
For each megawatt-hour of power the fuel cell system generates, CO2 emissions will be reduced by 18 to 25%.[1] Over a project life of ten years, the system will reduce Honda’s carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 16 million pounds. Fuel cells convert fuels – in this case, natural gas – into electricity through an electrochemical process that is much more efficient than combustion, thereby reducing CO2 emissions of fossil fuels. Additionally, fuel cell technology delivers extraordinary water savings as it requires no water beyond an injection of 240 gallons at start-up. Compared to the average water demands of California power plants, it is estimated that Honda will save more than 3.25 million gallons of equivalent water used per year.[2]
Over the past decade, American Honda has implemented a number of initiatives to reduce the company’s carbon footprint at its Torrance campus, including the installation of high efficiency cooling systems and a recent lighting retrofit that cut the facility’s CO2 emissions by nearly 750,000 pounds per year.
American Honda contracted with Bloom Energy and its partner, Core States Group, to design, develop and implement this project. Bloom Energy will provide all monitoring and maintenance for the fuel cells.
Honda Environmental Leadership
Honda is a leader in the development of leading-edge technologies to improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions. Honda has led the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) rankings of overall vehicle environmental performance since 2000, and a Honda vehicle has topped the list of America's greenest vehicles from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) for eleven out of the past twelve years. The company leads all automakers with twelve LEED-certified "Green Buildings" in North America. Ten of its 14 North American manufacturing facilities are zero-waste to landfill.
In 2006, Honda became the first automaker to announce voluntary CO2 emissions reduction targets for its global fleet of automobile, power sports and power equipment products and its global network of manufacturing plants. Today, the company is striving for even greater reductions in CO2 emissions that contribute to global climate change, while also working to minimize waste, water use and the total environmental footprint of its operations worldwide.
Executive Quote
“A stationary fuel cell system is a natural next step in our ongoing efforts to further reduce American Honda’s environmental impact” said Garth Sellers, Honda’s manager of North American corporate facilities “Honda already produces a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle – the FCX Clarity – so we know this type of technology is an effective means of reducing our carbon footprint.”
For more information, contact:
Marcos Frommer: marcos_frommer@ahm.honda.com / 310-783-7837
Connect to Honda:
Honda Multimedia Newsroom (for media only): http://www.hondanews.com
Honda News & Views: http://www.honda.com/news
Honda Corporate Social Responsibility / Environment: csr.honda.com/environment/
Honda Environmental Film Series: corporate.honda.com/environment/film-series/
Honda on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/americanhonda
Honda of America Mfg. on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/hondamfgohio
Honda on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/honda
Honda on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/honda
Honda on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/hondanews
Honda Website: http://www.honda.com
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/honda/
================================
http://www.techhive.com/article/2031...ongestion.html
Honda tests an app designed to reduce traffic congestion
Smartphone mapping and traffic news apps can be a big help on a highway commute, but the next generation may go beyond advising alternative routes to actually reduce congestion. Honda says it has recently tested an app that can delay the start of a traffic jam by as much as six minutes, while also improving your car’s fuel efficiency by 20 percent. The secret to improving traffic flow isn't adding lanes to a highway or reworking an exit ramp, but in teaching drivers how to manage the brake pedal.
Urban dwellers have all been there. You’re cruising down the highway, when suddenly traffic slows to a crawl. Maybe an accident is blocking progress, or a slew of cars are trying to merge onto the interstate. Five minutes later, when you reach the site of the major slowdown, all you find are a bunch of cars getting closer and closer together before speeding up and continuing on their way. The problem wasn’t a major obstacle or hazard, but simply too many people braking too hard at the same time. So you pass the invisible stop sign and work your way back up to 55 miles per hour.
honda
This is where Honda’s smartphone app comes in. The system displays either a green or blue screen, visible at a glance. Green means your driving is aligned with the surrounding vehicles and the chances of congestion are low. If the smartphone app turns blue, that means your driving is likely to create congestion and the app will guide you to realign your driving with the surrounding traffic flow.
Apps ease traffic in tests
Honda didn't specify how its smartphone app helps get your driving back in sync with everyone else. My guess is that it advises you to brake more slowly, or maybe back off from the car in front of you. The company said, however, that when its app was tested in Jakarta, Indonesia between September 2012 and February 2013, traffic jams were delayed by an average of three to four minutes and fuel efficiency improved by 20 to 22 percent.
Honda tested two types of systems during its pilot project. In one case, drivers were outfitted with a stand-alone smartphone app that judged surrounding driving patterns. In the second test, multiple cars were outfitted with smartphone apps connected to a server. Those apps could learn from the server what other cars were doing, and then advise individual drivers how to get back in sync with traffic.
Ready to hit the road?
Honda’s concept is an interesting idea and potentially useful. It may bridge the gap until we can turn over driving responsibilities to self-driving cars that would be far more efficient at making these judgments than exhausted commuters who just want to get home.
Overzealous braking, however, feels like just one aspect of traffic congestion, albeit a major contributor. A lighter foot won’t solve bottlenecks created when highways shrink from three to two lanes in the course of a few miles. You’ll probably never find a smartphone app that will convince the cutthroat driver in the lane next to you to let you in. And don’t get me started on drivers who seem blissfully unaware that you’re supposed to accelerate on the onramp so you’re driving at highway speeds by the time you actually get to the highway.
Honda’s latest smartphone experiment was just the first public road test for its new congestion minimization technology. The company hasn’t announced any plans to release its smartphone app or whether this system might be built into car dashboards in the future.
American Honda Installs Stationary Fuel Cell System that Will Produce a Megawatt of Clean Energy, Reduce CO2
Torrance, Calif., March 22, 2013 /3BL Media/ – Continuing its efforts to reduce the environmental footprint of its operations, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. today announced the installation of a new fuel cell system on its Torrance, California campus that will produce one megawatt of clean, reliable energy, and significantly reduce CO2 emissions from Honda’s operations in the region.
The fuel cell system consists of five energy servers each producing 200 kilowatts of power, and will provide 25 percent of Honda’s electricity needs for its 1.13 million square feet of office space, research, design and development operations, and parts distribution center on the 101 acre campus. The power generated by the fuel cell system would power approximately 750 average-sized homes each day.
For each megawatt-hour of power the fuel cell system generates, CO2 emissions will be reduced by 18 to 25%.[1] Over a project life of ten years, the system will reduce Honda’s carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 16 million pounds. Fuel cells convert fuels – in this case, natural gas – into electricity through an electrochemical process that is much more efficient than combustion, thereby reducing CO2 emissions of fossil fuels. Additionally, fuel cell technology delivers extraordinary water savings as it requires no water beyond an injection of 240 gallons at start-up. Compared to the average water demands of California power plants, it is estimated that Honda will save more than 3.25 million gallons of equivalent water used per year.[2]
Over the past decade, American Honda has implemented a number of initiatives to reduce the company’s carbon footprint at its Torrance campus, including the installation of high efficiency cooling systems and a recent lighting retrofit that cut the facility’s CO2 emissions by nearly 750,000 pounds per year.
American Honda contracted with Bloom Energy and its partner, Core States Group, to design, develop and implement this project. Bloom Energy will provide all monitoring and maintenance for the fuel cells.
Honda Environmental Leadership
Honda is a leader in the development of leading-edge technologies to improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions. Honda has led the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) rankings of overall vehicle environmental performance since 2000, and a Honda vehicle has topped the list of America's greenest vehicles from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) for eleven out of the past twelve years. The company leads all automakers with twelve LEED-certified "Green Buildings" in North America. Ten of its 14 North American manufacturing facilities are zero-waste to landfill.
In 2006, Honda became the first automaker to announce voluntary CO2 emissions reduction targets for its global fleet of automobile, power sports and power equipment products and its global network of manufacturing plants. Today, the company is striving for even greater reductions in CO2 emissions that contribute to global climate change, while also working to minimize waste, water use and the total environmental footprint of its operations worldwide.
Executive Quote
“A stationary fuel cell system is a natural next step in our ongoing efforts to further reduce American Honda’s environmental impact” said Garth Sellers, Honda’s manager of North American corporate facilities “Honda already produces a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle – the FCX Clarity – so we know this type of technology is an effective means of reducing our carbon footprint.”
For more information, contact:
Marcos Frommer: marcos_frommer@ahm.honda.com / 310-783-7837
Connect to Honda:
Honda Multimedia Newsroom (for media only): http://www.hondanews.com
Honda News & Views: http://www.honda.com/news
Honda Corporate Social Responsibility / Environment: csr.honda.com/environment/
Honda Environmental Film Series: corporate.honda.com/environment/film-series/
Honda on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/americanhonda
Honda of America Mfg. on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/hondamfgohio
Honda on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/honda
Honda on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/honda
Honda on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/hondanews
Honda Website: http://www.honda.com
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/honda/
================================
http://www.techhive.com/article/2031...ongestion.html
Honda tests an app designed to reduce traffic congestion
Smartphone mapping and traffic news apps can be a big help on a highway commute, but the next generation may go beyond advising alternative routes to actually reduce congestion. Honda says it has recently tested an app that can delay the start of a traffic jam by as much as six minutes, while also improving your car’s fuel efficiency by 20 percent. The secret to improving traffic flow isn't adding lanes to a highway or reworking an exit ramp, but in teaching drivers how to manage the brake pedal.
Urban dwellers have all been there. You’re cruising down the highway, when suddenly traffic slows to a crawl. Maybe an accident is blocking progress, or a slew of cars are trying to merge onto the interstate. Five minutes later, when you reach the site of the major slowdown, all you find are a bunch of cars getting closer and closer together before speeding up and continuing on their way. The problem wasn’t a major obstacle or hazard, but simply too many people braking too hard at the same time. So you pass the invisible stop sign and work your way back up to 55 miles per hour.
honda
This is where Honda’s smartphone app comes in. The system displays either a green or blue screen, visible at a glance. Green means your driving is aligned with the surrounding vehicles and the chances of congestion are low. If the smartphone app turns blue, that means your driving is likely to create congestion and the app will guide you to realign your driving with the surrounding traffic flow.
Apps ease traffic in tests
Honda didn't specify how its smartphone app helps get your driving back in sync with everyone else. My guess is that it advises you to brake more slowly, or maybe back off from the car in front of you. The company said, however, that when its app was tested in Jakarta, Indonesia between September 2012 and February 2013, traffic jams were delayed by an average of three to four minutes and fuel efficiency improved by 20 to 22 percent.
Honda tested two types of systems during its pilot project. In one case, drivers were outfitted with a stand-alone smartphone app that judged surrounding driving patterns. In the second test, multiple cars were outfitted with smartphone apps connected to a server. Those apps could learn from the server what other cars were doing, and then advise individual drivers how to get back in sync with traffic.
Ready to hit the road?
Honda’s concept is an interesting idea and potentially useful. It may bridge the gap until we can turn over driving responsibilities to self-driving cars that would be far more efficient at making these judgments than exhausted commuters who just want to get home.
Overzealous braking, however, feels like just one aspect of traffic congestion, albeit a major contributor. A lighter foot won’t solve bottlenecks created when highways shrink from three to two lanes in the course of a few miles. You’ll probably never find a smartphone app that will convince the cutthroat driver in the lane next to you to let you in. And don’t get me started on drivers who seem blissfully unaware that you’re supposed to accelerate on the onramp so you’re driving at highway speeds by the time you actually get to the highway.
Honda’s latest smartphone experiment was just the first public road test for its new congestion minimization technology. The company hasn’t announced any plans to release its smartphone app or whether this system might be built into car dashboards in the future.
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