The state welcomed Bloom Energy’s offer this summer to build a fuel-cell factory at the closed Chrysler plant in Newark, providing $16 million in incentives and requiring Delmarva Power to put two clusters of the company’s fuel cells at substations. To make the deal palatable for Delmarva, the governor pushed state lawmakers to count power from the fuel cells toward Delmarva’s renewable energy requirements.

The move angers proponents of wind and solar energy, saying that the state is getting soft in its renewable energy policy.

I, for one, welcome any new technology that could power an electric car. A fuel cell is extremely efficient and could be refilled quickly to add range to an EV. The more fuel cell technology in our world the better off it is.

What we know is that Porsche is going to focus on vehicles that are entirely powered by batteries, no hybrid versions. There will be three initial R&D vehicles all based on the Porsche Boxter.

Bugatti, the automaker that gave us the Veyron–the world’s fastest and most expensive series production car–may be set to revolutionize the car industry once again. Bugatti’s engineers are now experimenting with an electric powertrain that can deliver 800 HP.Benefiting from the experience of engineers within Volkswagen Group’s Audi unit, who also created the Audi R8 E-Tron concept with 313 horsepower and 3.320 lb-ft of torque, Bugatti is now testing a similar concept aimed at powering one of its future models.

The powertrain would comprise two electric motors (one for each rear wheel?), each putting out over 400 HP and 1620 ft-lb of torque.  Since these are electric motors all of that torque is available at 0 RPMs.  This would probably result in the worlds fastest accelerating car, ever.  Either way, it would be a fun drive.

The main issue engineers are running into are the batteries.  Apparently when the car is at peak performance it’ll only last for a few minutes.  So it’s unlikely that we’ll see this version out anytime soon.  Perhaps a model based more closely on the Volt powertrain, where a gas engine can power the electric motors would be a better option until we can get batteries that last longer.

It’s the next step for the Volt, a car the company says can run 40 miles on a charge from a standard home power outlet. After the battery wears down, a 1.4-liter four-cylinder internal combustion engine takes over and generates electricity to power the car.

It’s due to go on sale this fall at a cost of about $40,000, before tax credits.

Lutz would not say exactly when the pure-electric version would make it into showrooms, but said it would be “technologically trivial” to switch out the internal combustion engine.

Lutz told reporters at the Detroit auto show that GM could quickly expand the Volt’s battery pack and take out the engine to build a fully electric car similar to Nissan’s Leaf.

The Leaf, also to go on sale in the U.S. late this year, can get up to 100 miles on an electric charge but must be recharged or have a new battery installed to go any further. More

Toyota is also planning to start selling hydrogen-fuel-cell vehicles in 2015. TM is moving forward with a proposal to expand the Prius hybrid into a family of vehicles. The company unveiled the second member of this family of cars at the Detroit Auto Show.

Fiat 500

Chrysler was saved earlier this year by both the US government and Fiat, a European car maker.  Fiat has recently released the Fiat 500 in Europe to rave reviews and wants to get this car in the US (branded as a Fiat).  It’s not much bigger than a smart car, but people say it is great for commuting – and there are four versions of it so you should be able to find one that suits you.

Even though Fiat decided to shut down Chrysler’s ENVI division the electrics from Chrysler will still be coming.  Supposedly an electrified version of the 500 will appear at the Detroit auto show.  I just hope that it will sell well here in the US, what works well in Europe doesn’t always work well here.

This also does not change the plans for the hybrid Ram next year.  Fiat/Chrysler has stated that they think EVs will account for 1-2% of their sales by 2014.  Not a big number, but a pretty realistic number.

While the hybrid Ram is still coming out next year, the Chrysler ENVI vehicle concepts are probably on shaky ground.  The minivan EV still makes the most sense in terms of up front costs (the minivan doesn’t need to be redesigned to electrify it) and market demand.  But the other two may never see the light of day.  The Jeep Wrangler is set to get a diesel engine (it’s about time too) brought over from Europe so they may decide that the diesel is good enough for now.

The Dodge Circuit EV is an electrified Lotus Elise – so a chunk of the cost in that car will end up going to Lotus.  I’m not sure that Fiat would like to be beholden to competitors for product.  They are already having issues with Diamler supplying parts for current Chrysler vehicles.

The automobile giant had signed an agreement with Bangalore-based Reva Electric Car Company last month to develop an electric version of GM India’s volume driver, the Chevrolet Spark.

By the arrangement, while GM India will utilise its capability to develop platforms and take care of the manufacturing side, Reva’s experience in developing electric drive-trains and control systems will be harnessed. While the Detroit-based firm has remained tight-lipped on its investment in this project, it has indicated it will be able to recover costs if it can sell between 4,000-6,000 units of the electric Spark. More

General Wesley Clark recently gave a speech where he stated that our dependence on foreign oil is a huge threat to our national security.

During the speech, which was given in Detroit, Clark said that the current status of the EV industry is similar to the early stages of the personal computer or cell phone industry.  He feels that we are closing in on an apex of similar techonological revolution for our autos and that the new industry will be a boon to the economy and create new jobs.

“We spawned a whole new industry off of personal computing,” Clark said. “We need that next big thing for America, and it could be right here at this conference. It could be in electric vehicle technologies.”