LowCVP News, 02 November 2015. (Issue 135) |
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UN report shows progress on climate promises but more is needed
A new report from the United Nations says that plans to limit climate change submitted by 146 countries represent progress but are, as yet, insufficient to keep global temperatures from rising within the 'safe' 2C limit. The plans so far submitted cover around 86% of global emissions; about four times the amount covered by the Kyoto Protocol.
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Industry News
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VW promises shift to focus on electric and hybrid vehicles following emissions scandal
Announcing £750m of spending cuts to help pay for the product recall following the emissions scandal, a senior Volkswagen Group executive says that the company will turn its focus to electric and hybrid vehicles and revamp all diesel cars and vans to feature cleaner exhaust emissions systems. Meanwhile, Volvo has also announced it will be introducing electric variants for all its models.
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Policy Developments
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New London black cabs must be 'zero emission capable' from 2018 says TfL
From 1 January 2018, all taxis licensed for the first time in London must be (ZEC) zero emission capable (less than 50g/km tailpipe CO2 and 30 miles ZE range) according to plans outlined by Transport for London. Additionally, any ZEC taxi can only use petrol for its hybrid engine. For private hire vehicles the intention is that all vehicles granted a PHV licence for the first time after 1 January 2023 must be zero emission capable, regardless of age.
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LowCVP News
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LowCVP to focus on cutting emissions from trucks
(News release:) To coincide with its participation in the new Freight in the City event (27 October, Alexandra Palace) the LowCVP is calling on fleet operators, local authorities and others to join forces in building the market for heavy goods vehicles which cut carbon, reduce emissions and lower fuel costs.
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LowCVP low emission freight workshop - 30/11/2015
The LowCVP is holding a stakeholder workshop in London to progress the Partnership's commerecial vehicle activity, including the accreditation scheme for after-market technologies as well as providing opportunities for operators and others to collaborate in a new, DfT-funded test programme to benchmark vehicles powered by natural gas/biomethane. The group will also commence activity on the specific actions needed to stimulate low carbon urban freight solutions.
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International Developments
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EU experts agree Real Driving Emissions approach to start in 2017
National experts in the European Commission's Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles (TCMV) have reached a compromise agreement on new conformity factor limits on nitrogen oxides (NOx) emitted from passenger cars, with full implementation for all new cars delayed until 2019.
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Norway study tests 'real traffic' CO2 and air polluting emissions
The Norwegian Centre for Transport Research has published new research based on 'real traffic' tests of 12 HGVs and seven Euro 6 diesel cars which found that the cars produced between 4 and 20 times the level of NOx in city traffic and during cold weather than the Euro 6 type approval limit values. The tests also found that the cars exceeded NEDC type approval average emissions of CO2 by 60% or more in congested traffic.
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Reports & Studies
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Events
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UK Bus Summit 2016 - 11/02/2016
The second annual UK Bus Summit will be held in London at the QEII Conference Centre, Westminster on 11thFebruary 2016 and once again is supported by the Department for Transport. But this year the focus will also be on the devolution agenda, and proposals in the Buses Bill which would give combined authorities with an elected mayor powers to franchise bus services.
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My Electric Avenue – Turning the Corner - 03/12/2015
My Electric Avenue’s ‘Turning the Corner’ final dissemination event is an opportunity to share learning and results from the project with stakeholders from across Government, the utilities and automotive sectors. The project aimed to discover essential learning about managing the local electricity network as sales of cars with ‘plug-in’ capability continue to rise.
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Future Powertrain Conference 2016 - 24/02/2016
The Future Powertrain Conference (FPC2016) is a two day UK event created to bring together industry and academic experts within the powertrain development field. It will open up presentations and discussions on the solutions to the challenges faced by the engineering industry in the UK and internationally over the next ten years.
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The Intelligent City Mobility Event - 12/11/2015
The Intelligent City Mobility event is for transport, urban design, intelligent mobility, city management, parking, smarter travel and automotive professionals. Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), pay as you go cars, electric cars, journey planning and parking apps, in-car navigation systems, car and cycle sharing schemes, driver-assisted and autonomous vehicles are all manifestations of the world of ‘Intelligent Mobility’. This event will look at how cities in the UK and abroad are redefining their relationships with the car – for the better.
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Lightweighting Vehicle Body Structures - 01/12/2015
New legislation from the EU is driving car manufacturers towards the production of more fuel efficient and less polluting models, partly achieved by reducing the weight of the vehicle structure. This seminar will explore the latest developments in vehicle body design and lightweighting, and will cover a variety of topics including crash safety, end-of-life disassembly, recycling and multi-material construction technologies.
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NEW MEMBERS |
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We are pleased to welcome the following new members to the Partnership.
The Litus Foundation - The Litus Foundation isdeveloping super-efficient uncooled engines for all applications and fuels
Future Biogas Ltd - Future Biogas specialises in the construction and operation of biogas plants for the UK.
Thriev Systems and Marketing - Thriev's the first electric car platform and largest zero emission chauffeured fleet in the UK.
London South Bank University - LSBU is the top modern university in London for world-leading General Engineering research.
University of Sheffield - University of Sheffield's Energy2050 is one of the UK’s largest energy research institutes.
Arriva Plc - Arriva is one of the largest providers of passenger transport in Europe, operating more than 20,000 vehicles.
ECOTEC Ltd - ECOTEC is a consultancy firm to financial Institutions and industry players raising money for investment and expansion of LCVs.
Baumot UK Ltd - The Twintec-Baumot Group, develops, produces and markets worldwide high-efficiency exhaust after treatment systems for the segments retrofit and OEM.
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FUTURE ACTIVITIES |
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Bus Working Group, 14 January 2016, venue tbc. On the agenda: DfT and OLEV update; LCEB udpate; LEB accrediation procedure update; guest speaker tbc; work programme 2016/17.
Members click here
Passenger Car Working Group, 28 January, 2016 (venue tbc). On the agenda: DfT/OLEV policy update; Local authorities best practice guide dissemination update; WLTP project update; L-cat vehicle report.
Members click here
Fuels Working Group, 4 February 2016, (venue tbc). On the agenda: E10; Advanced biofuels; biofrontiers update, work programme 2016/17, guest speaker tbc.
Members click here
Innovation Working Group, 26 November 2015, (University of Bath). On the agenda: l-cat report, funding opportunities, Shaping R,D&D in Transport Energy and Best Practice in Regional Support for Low Carbon Auto SMEs.
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Members Council, 10 December 2015, (One America Sq, EC3) On the agenda: 2016/17 work programme ideas; policy and impact aims.
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LowCVP Board meeting, 5 November 2015 (BIS, SW1). On the agenda: 2015-16 work programme half-year strategy review; LowCVP activity scope and plans, Board membership.
Members click here
Help steer the policy and build the markets by joining the Partnership..
Current activities and projects taking place in each of the LowCVP's Working Groups: more information.
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News-In-Brief
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» £3m for additional round of Scottish Green Bus Fund (Transport Scotland)
» Nissan and Ecotricity call for road signs pointing to public charging points (Blue & Green Tomorrow)
» UK and China sign low carbon transition deal (UK Gov)
» Hydrogen cars set for London (Mayor of London)
» Hounslow innovation trials EV recharging from streetlamps (LBH News release)
» Dame Julia King appointed as Cross-Bench Peer (Aston Univ Release)
» ABB and Microsoft join forces to launch next-generation electric vehicle charging services platform (Microsoft)
» EV-friendly countries and states join to form the International ZEV Alliance (Charged)
» Norway is model for encouraging EV sales (NY Times)
» EPSRC - collaboration in £11 million driverless cars project (Tech Week Europe)
» US Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways program (UC Davis ITS)
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