Eco Warriors

Volkswagen giving The Conservation Fund $1.25 million to buy, protect land in East Tennessee

Eileen Falkenberg-Hull
Nov 16, 2019, 12:07 pm

Volkswagen is making a significant donation to help the environment of Eastern Tennessee.

Photo courtesy of Volkswagen AG

The Conservation Fund will be on the receiving end of a $1.25 million donation from Volkswagen. The monies will be used to buy, protect and donate hundreds of acres of land to the U.S. Forest Service. Any remaining money will be used to provide community grants in Eastern Tennessee.

Volkswagen's U.S. plant is located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, near where these funds will be used.

Cherokee National Forest Tennessee The additional conservation efforts will allow visitors to enjoy the national habitats of wildlife in Tennessee.Photo courtesy of Volkswagen AG

"We are excited about our partnership with Volkswagen and the opportunity to advance their commitment to corporate leadership around sustainability," said Larry Selzer, president and CEO of The Conservation Fund. "Volkswagen is taking real, measurable steps forward to help protect the environment, embrace sustainable business practices and support the communities in which they work."

Most of the funds will be used to increase the size of the Cherokee National Forest. The Forest was created in 1920 and currently stands at about 656,000 acres north and south of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Volkswagen's donation will help add 1,500 acres to the site. That new acreage will be used for public recreation and habitat protection for black bears and Indiana bats.

Cherokee National Forest sign Tennessee Volkswagen of America and The Conservation Fund are teaming up to increase the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee.Photo courtesy of Volkswagen AG

"Our work with The Conservation Fund will help strengthen the environment and help us give back to a community where more than 3,800 of our colleagues live," said Scott Keogh, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America. "This collaboration in our own backyard underscores our 'Drive Bigger' goal of pursuing ideas bigger than ourselves and then taking action. We feel a responsibility to show how a major automaker can credibly contribute to the greater good."

In addition to the bears and bats, the Forest is home to the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, several whitewater rivers, and 12 designated wildernesses.

The Conservation Fund is negotiating with private landowners to acquire properties that will be held until they can be transferred to the USDA Forest Service for long-term stewardship in 2020 and 2021.

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Electric Vehicles

Toyota using motorsports as a proving ground for hydrogen engine tech

An upcoming endurance race will put hydrogen technology front and center.

Photo courtesy of Toyota/N-RAK Photo Agency

Its prototype is becoming a reality, at least on the racing circuit. Toyota has announced that it is developing a hydrogen engine that will be installed and tested in a Corolla Hatchback. That car will be raced under the ORC ROOKIE Racing banner.

Toyota, like Hyundai and other companies, has made it publicly known that they see battery electric vehicles (BEVs) as a bridge between internal combustion engines (ICEs) and the eventual takeover of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV).

Toyota currently sells the Mirai FCEV, a model currently in its second generation that underwent a major makeover last year. It uses a fuel cell in which hydrogen chemically reacts with oxygen in the air to produce electricity that powers an electric motor. Vehicles with hydrogen engines generate power through the combustion of hydrogen using fuel and injection systems that have been modified from those used with gasoline engines.

Image of a hydrogen engine www.youtube.com

Except for the combustion of minute amounts of engine oil during driving, which is also the case with gasoline engines, hydrogen engines emit zero carbon dioxide when in use. This is why you'll often hear them referred to as having "zero tailpipe emissions".

Hydrogen engines have some advantages over ICE vehicles besides emissions. The combustion in a FCEV happens faster than in a ICE giving the car better throttle responsiveness.

The hydrogen-engine-powered race vehicle announced today will be fueled during races suing hydrogen produced at Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture.

Japan, like the U.S., Korea, and Europe faces an uphill battle when it comes to hydrogen production and fueling stations. In the U.S., much progress toward mass adoption of FCEVs is help up by local laws, but recently implementing of hydrogen-powered tractor trailers at ports has been gaining steam as regulators see major environmental upsides for their communities.

The turbocharged 1.6-liter three-cylinder engine will undergo its first test at the Super Taikyu Series 2021 Powered by Hankook Round 3 NAPAC Fuji Super TEC 24 Hours Race on May 21-23.

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Fuel Economy

New EPA testing confirms Volkswagen ID.4's 260-mile all-electric range

The 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 is on sale now.

Photo courtesy of Volkswagen AG
The all-electric range of the 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 has been confirmed. The model is the first modern electric Volkswagen to be sold in the U.S. and a model that the German automaker is resting a lot of hopes on for the future of sales in the country.

The 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro with all-wheel drive will achieve an EPA-estimated 260 miles of all-electric range on a full charge. The ID.4 Pro S and 1st Edition, which have more features and equipment and therefore weigh more, achieve an estimated 250 miles of range.

The EPA-estimated fuel economy for ID.4 Pro RWD is 107 MPGe in the city; 91 MPGe on the highway, and 99 MPGe combined. The ID.4 Pro S and 1st Edition does slightly worse achieving 104 MPGe in the city, 89 MPGe on the highway, and 97 MPGe combined.

2021 Volkswagen ID.4: Exterior The "1st" badging denotes the vehicle as a first edition model. Photo courtesy of Volkswagen AG

These new numbers come as part of a second round of EPA testing. Original testing found that the model did not quite hit its target.

How does that compare to other EVs? The Nissan Leaf Plus offers 226 miles of all-electric power. The Hyundai Kona Electric delivers 258 miles. Volvo's XC40 Recharge has just 208 miles of all-electric range but the Tesla Model Y can go up to 326 miles on one full charge.

First out of the Volkswagen gate will be ID.4 models with an 82-kilowatt-hour battery and rear-mounted AC permanent-magnet synchronous motor. That system delivers 201 horsepower and 228 pound-feet of torque.

At a public DC fast-charging station with 125 kW charging, the ID.4 can go from five to 80 percent charged in about 38 minutes. With purchase, ID.4 owners receive three years of unlimited charging at Electrify America DC Fast Chargers at no additional cost.

The 2021 ID.4 is on sale now, with pricing for the rear-wheel-drive ID.4 Pro starting at $39,995 MSRP, before a potential Federal tax credit of up to $7,500. The Pro S carries an MSRP of $44,495. The limited-run ID.4 1st Edition, which sold out the day the vehicle was launched, carried an MSRP of $43,995.

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