Solutions that can cut CO2 emissions by as much as 25% from existing vehicles were among the winners in a competition over in Europe conducted by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP). The winners of the Low Carbon HGV Technology Challenge are developing unique technologies that, while being developed by European firms, certainly have the attention of major global manufacturers.

Each of the six winners will present their technologies and findings to a group of select manufacturers and fleet operators, including representatives of Allison Transmission, DAF Trucks, Daimler, Iveco, and Volvo Trucks.

LowCVP is an advisory and action group established in 2003 to encourage UK businesses to shift their vehicle fleets to low-carbon vehicles and fuels. There are approximately 200 member organizations from the automotive and fuel industries, the environmental sector, government, academia and road user groups.

The goal of the contest was to find ways to improve fuel economy and cut CO2 emissions. Most of the winning technologies, according to LowCVP, can be retrofitted onto existing trucks, making the technologies viable for any fleet operator looking to improve their carbon profile.

“The LowCVP’s HGV Technology Challenge shows the high capacity of UK engineers to develop innovative and effective solutions to help us tackle climate change,” said Greg Archer, LowCVP managing director. “The Challenge brings these great ideas to the attention of potential partners and customers providing both new market opportunities for some outstanding UK businesses and hastening the introduction of low carbon innovations in the HGV market that also reduce fuel costs.

“We are heartened by the strong support the initiative has received from both technology companies and major vehicle manufacturers and fleets, demonstrating their commitment to finding new solutions for reducing carbon emissions from trucks,” he added.

“We’ve spent several years developing and fine‐tuning our product, working with fleets and trailer

manufacturers, looking at technical and operational viability,” said Pauline Dawes of Somi Trailers, one of the winners. “We’ve had independent trials carried out and know our idea has potential. However, we also recognize that end‐users can be inundated with ideas. Winning the Technology Challenge will provide the opportunity for us to distinguish ourselves from the noise and, hopefully, attract new customers.”

The winners were selected based the merits and impacts of the technology for reducing CO2 emissions, commercial viability, and ease of integration.

The winners

Hardstaff Group (www.hardstaffgroup.co.uk): The Hardstaff Group has been using dual fuel in its heavy-duty vehicles. The company operates about 60 vehicles on dual fuel, substituting up to 70% of diesel fuel with natural gas, resulting in an 18% reduction in CO2 emissions.

Somi Trailers Ltd (www.somitrailers.com): The company’s 4 meter (13.1 ft.) high trailers increase capacity and lower costs, allowing fleets to haul the same amount of goods in three trailers that would take normally take four.

MIRA Ltd (www.mira.co.uk): Engineering company redesigned a 4.5 meter (14.7 ft.) high trailer to reduce drag. In a test project, the company claimed drag reductions of nearly 30%, resulting in a fuel and CO2 savings of between 15 and 20%.

Zeta Automotive (www.thezetagroup.com): Initially created for use with light vans, and now developed for heavy trucks, the company’s EconoSpeed can be fitted to any vehicle with an electronic throttle, and sits between the accelerator pedal and the engine’s ECU computer. The product limits the maximum rate of acceleration and forces earlier gear changes by limiting RPM. Combined with a top-speed limit, the device “mimics” the behavior of an economical driver and can be retrofit in less than an hour.

RDS Europe Ltd: RDS offers a hydraulically actuated parallel hybrid technology that demonstrates a 25% fuel savings in stop/start urban driving. Similar reductions in CO2, NOx, and particulates are seen, the company said.

Flybrid Systems and the Flybus Consortium (www.flybridsystems.com): The group, comprised of variable drive developer Torotrak, bus maker Optare, engineering group Ricardo, and supported transmission supplier Allison Transmission, has developed the Flybrid system. Initially designed for Formula One cars, the system is now being developed for heavy-duty trucks. It uses a high-speed flywheel that gathers energy when the vehicle is braking to turn the flywheel as fast as 60,000 rpm. That stored energy is then used to assist in the launching of the vehicle, reducing fuel usage.

As individual drivers, we can’t do much to improve traffic conditions, but one organization is trying its best to ensure that we have all the information we need to plan out trips.

The I-95 Corridor Coalition is in the midst of a program started in 2008 to develop real-time, accurate traffic data on the I-95 corridor. The organization created the I-95 Vehicle Probe Project, a public-private partnership between the Coalition, the University of Maryland and Inrix, a supplier of traffic data and data analysis. The purpose: to find more effective ways to monitor and report real-time traffic conditions on the major North-South artery along the East Coast.

“Two years ago, leaders of the Coalition decided to seek consistent real-time traffic data for a large multi-state area, believing the timing was right to leverage technology capable of delivering high-quality traffic information at much less cost than traditional approaches,” said George Schoener, executive director, I-95 Corridor Coalition.

The I-95 corridor encompasses a region that would be the world’s third largest economy. That alone makes this project one to watch for any company that is involved in commerce.

The Vehicle Probe Project now incorporates real-time traffic speeds and travel time information for more than 5,000 miles of road from Maine to Florida, and in many cases, data is suggesting it is providing it more cost-effectively and efficiently than previous methods.

“As we move forward with expanded coverage throughout the Coalition, more of our members will have access to traffic data that is becoming a valuable tool in the development of performance measures for their systems,” said Schoener.

According to the Coalition, the project’s “objective is to create a seamless traffic monitoring system that spans the eastern seaboard delivering travel times and speeds on freeways and arterials using probe technology. The Inrix system fuses data from various sources to present a comprehensive picture of traffic flow. Member agencies have found numerous uses for the data beyond simply travel information.”

That “crowd-sourced” data offers a more complete view of travel times and speeds. The study so far has found that traffic monitoring through the probe strategy cuts costs. The South Carolina DOT said the cost to obtain traffic information for 1,200 miles of road using the Inrix vehicle probe is the same as the cost to obtain the same information on 300 miles using traditional methods.

Several states, such as Maryland, use the data to display travel times on strategically placed signs along the highway. Faster emergency response times are another benefit, Inrix said. In one case, New Jersey estimated a $100,000 savings for one incident because responders were aware of current traffic conditions, cutting an hour out of response time.

North Carolina and Florida are using the data for their 511 telephone services where callers can get updated travel times to key interchanges around the states.

The information is also being posted online at i95travelinfo.net.

Perhaps someday in the near future, this same information will interact with my GPS and notify me to take an alternate route before I get stuck in a traffic jam. My bosses would probably appreciate that.

Fredrick McKinley Jones, founder of Thermo King, will be honored for his contributions to science and technology when he is posthumously inducted into the Minnesota Science and Technology (MST) Hall of Fame during the Tekne Awards gala tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Jones is the inventor of portable refrigeration systems which transformed food transport in this country and around the world. He is recognized as one of the foremost African-American inventors in this country’s history.

In 1991, Jones was the first African-American to be recognized by the U.S. government with the National Medal of Technology, according to Thermo King. During his career, Jones was granted more than 40 patents in the field of refrigeration, including an air-conditioning unit for military field hospitals and a refrigerator for military field kitchens. In addition, Jones patented other inventions including many for the film industry. In all, he was granted more than 60 patents before his death on Feb. 21, 1961.

In 1935, Jones designed the first practical and automatic refrigeration unit for trucks and railcars, allowing the transport of food and other perishables across long distances. This device helped lead to the creation of the fast food and frozen food industries.

A similar portable refrigeration system was used by the U.S. during World War II to transport blood and other medicines across the battlefields of Europe, according to a biography at Black History Pages. Part of that invention included a way to parachute the refrigeration system into the battlefield behind enemy lines.

Jones, along with the help of Joseph Numero, a moviemaker who took advantage of several of Jones’ inventions, founded the U.S. Thermo Control Co., which eventually became Thermo King.

Jones’ creations for the movie industry included a device that allowed a silent theater to replay sound, thus making “talkie” movies possible. He also created an automatic ticket dispensing machine and a mechanism that stabilized the picture quality.

Born in Cincinnati in 1893, Jones never finished school. In fact, he never made it past eighth grade, according to Black History Pages.

Jones was born to a father who was a white railroad worker of Irish descent and a black mother, who, according to Black Inventor Online Museum, died when he was very young. Raised by his father, Jones eventually ran away from home at the age of 12. He took a job working at R.C. Crothers Garage and took great interest in the work of the mechanics.

His early interest in the mechanical was just the first indication of the greatness to come.

While he is credited with more than 60 patents in his lifetime, it is perhaps some of his work that he did not patent that shows his true genius.

After coming home from World War I, Jones went to work driving local doctors on their house calls. When the winter weather arrived, though, Jones found driving difficult, so he went to work. According to Black Inventor, Jones attached a set of skis to the undercarriage of an old airplane body and then attached an airplane propeller to a motor. Soon, Jones and the doctors were able to continue making those house calls.

Another doctor complained to Jones that he wished he could get x-rays of patients sooner rather than waiting for the patient to come to the office. That was no problem for Jones, who created a portable x-ray machine. While he never patented his device, others soon picked up on the technology.

On July 30, 2007, Thermo King opened the Fredrick McKinley Jones Research and Development Center at its Bloomington, Minn., headquarters. A 40,000 sq. ft. facility, it is an $8 million state-of-the-art design and testing center.

While most people probably do not know who Fredrick McKinley Jones was, his inventions have touched all our lives. Tomorrow night, many more will learn.