A driver at a hydrogen pump at a Los Angeles gas station refuels a futuristic, zero-emission Chevrolet Equinox hydrogen-fuel-cell powered automobile. The vehicle has a range of 150 miles. An electronic plug-in cable controls the refilling process.
Image Credit: (iStock) pandapix

Australian Research

Low energy efficiency is already a major problem for petrol and diesel vehicles. Typically, only 20% of the overall well-to-wheel energy is actually used to power these vehicles.  This low energy efficiency is the primary reason why fossil fuel vehicles are emissions-intensive and relatively expensive to run.

The other 80% is lost through oil extraction, refinement, transport, evaporation, and engine heat.

With this in mind, we set out to understand the energy efficiency of electric and hydrogen vehicles as part of a recent paper published in the Air Quality and Climate Change Journal.

[Article Credit: The Conversation - 30 Nov 2018]

Yoogo Share has won first place in the "Smarter Transport" category of the 2018 NZI Sustainable Business Network Awards. 

Right to left: Yoogo Share Development Manager, Tracey Jay. Yoogo Share General Manager, Kirsten Corson. Waste Management National Manager Customer First, Marsha Cadman. Waste Management Sustainability Manager, Adam Weller.
Image Credit: Sustainable Business Network

650 people attended the black-tie NZI Sustainable Business Network Awards dinner in Auckland last Thursday night to find out which businesses were leading sustainability in the country. Yoogo Share was up against Waste Management NZ, Civic Contractors, Enviro NZ, Tranzit Group, Yoogo Share and Mevo for the Smarter Transport Award.

Meanwhile, taking out the supreme award, The City Rail Link, will also bring cleaner transport to NZ. 

The City Rail Link project has proven the infrastructure industry can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and its environmental impact while developing Auckland’s much-needed public transport infrastructure. This will result in an ongoing reduction in both congestion and carbon. 

A success factor behind being able to achieve CRL’s goal of zero waste to landfill has been supporting and educating the contractor companies and their employees to avoid, reduce, reuse, recycle and recover as much waste as practicable. CRL tracks against its projections all energy, water, materials, and waste that is generated on site.

Rachel Brown, CEO Sustainable Business Network, says: “New Zealand’s construction industry contributes 40 percent of the total waste going to landfill in Auckland and CRL has proven this doesn’t have to be the case.

There is usually a new category each year at these awards and this year it was Millennial on a Mission. The winner of this category is Olie Body whose extraordinarily witty and engaging organisation Wā Collective also won the Communicating for Change category and was a finalist for the Supreme Award. 

Using humour to break down barriers, Olie's reusable product has reduced waste going into landfills. NZ sends 357 million disposable menstrual products to landfill each year and they can take up to 500 years to decompose. 

Better NZ Trust has been both a past winner and a runnerup of the Communicating for Change category. We add our congratulations to Olie for her tremendous results this year and wish her well in what will undoubtedly be an exciting future.

Image Credit: Yoogo Share

Yoogo Share

Yoogo Share is a 100% electric car sharing service. It is the first of its kind in New Zealand.

Founded in Christchurch in February this year, it is now expanding to Auckland.

Yoogo targets three elements of smart mobility:

1. reduced congestion
2. reduced environmental impact
3. improved utilisation of the NZ car fleet.

It has a fleet of 100 vehicles in Christchurch. All are 100% electric, comprising a mix of BMW i3s and Hyundai Ioniqs. There are 3,000 members, including both business and private users. Yoogo focuses on driver education and making its service easy to use, with a 24-hour support service. It has built its own charging infrastructure so cars are always fully charged for the next user. There are already 100 charging stations in easily accessible hubs in Christchurch.

In the first six months since launch, Yoogo saved 40 tonnes of carbon in Christchurch alone.

Kirsten Corson, General Manager of Yoogo Share, confirms that Yoogo Share has already seen members sell their second car, or selling their only car, to use the fleet of shared electric cars.

When Corson was asked about Lime Scooters she is very positive saying “Mobility is like a jigsaw puzzle, and its great to see a number of sustainable options available for Cantabrians. We are already seeing members jumping on a Lime Scooter to get to one of our hubs, going out for a couple of hours in a Yoogo Share car and Scootering home.”

Garry Taylor, Executive General Manager NZI, the Principal Partner of the Sustainable Business Network Awards, says, “A sustainable business takes into account environmental, social and economic factors to create a business model that endures the test of time.”

[Rachelle Tilsley - Better NZ Trust - 29 November 2018]

Start sequence, BMW i Berlin E-Prix 2017/18 - Credit: LAT/Formula E

Electric dream: consortium still pushing to bring Formula E to Auckland

A consortium including ASB Classic tennis tournament director Karl Budge is angling to bring "Formula E" racing to Auckland.

He and consortium partner Craig Cotton (head of the NZ Innovation Council) commissioned a study by SMG YouGov that says the race would bring in $150m a year.

Why It's Important

Budge and Cotton say it's not just about the thrill of motorsport. The pair argue Formula E racing in New Zealand would help spur clean energy research and electric vehicle adoption as the government targets a carbon neutral economy by 2050.

Read Full Article

Can New Zealand reach Norway's standard for electric vehicles?

With a general power cut in Taupo recently, one EV owner and dealer, Steve Greenwood of Drive EV (www.driveev.co.nz/) has been able to keep the power going at his home and office.

Using an inverter running off the traction batteries in an EV, he has available two AC power points for household appliances. 

We were unsure if EV Owners would be able to attend a Friday evening visit to Alpine Energy, but in the end but a good number of owners arrived, including three new members for whom this was their first community event.

Alpine Energy was one of the early adopters for Electric Vehicle Fast Charging in the South Island.

In fact, CEO Andrew Tombs said it was, at the time, one of the easiest proposals to get through the company’s Board and they saw the benefit of Electric Vehicles taking advantage of the distribution infrastructure already installed to use to better effect.

New Zealand Waves The Flag at International EV Symposium

During the recent 2018 International Drive Electric Week, I was lucky enough to test out the smooth drive of a brand new Yoogo Share BMW i3. It wasn’t just the electric glide, but the whole Yoogo Share experience went smoothly. 

But after I returned the car I felt quite deflated.

Yoogo Share is a fully electric car sharing service.

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