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The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is instituting its first-ever strategic plan to deal with “Rare earth metals” – the special group of elements that are essential components of clean energy technologies like electric vehicle batteries, compact flourescent light bulbs and solar panels.

As nations around the world increase development and deployment of clean energy, there is a growing anxiety about China’s clear dominance of these essential supplies.  China currently supplies nearly 95% of global demand  for rare earth metals, and the government is attempting to control all processing of rare earth metals.  Over the past seven years,  China has reduced global exports by 40% and some estimates expect China will begin halting exports of these rare earths within the next two years.

“It goes without saying that diversified sources of supply are important for any strategic material,” said David Sandalow, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Policy & International Affairs.  ”So too are substitutes and strategies for re-use and recycling.  If rare earth metals are going to play an increasing role in our economy, we need to pursue those strategies.”  The DOE is soliciting information from industry, research labs and other related organizations to gain a more complete understanding of cost and supply issues regarding rare earth metals.

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Recent estimates expect the global automobile fleet to double over the next 20 years – growing from 800m today to over 1.6bn in 2030.  This massive growth is occurring as developing powers like China and India increase levels of individual car ownership.  However, the extra emissions resulting from millions upon millions more vehicles on the world’s roadways could be dramatic, and adversely affect global efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

The European Commission has launched a “green transport” initiative in an effort to reach their emissions reductions goals.  By 2050, the EU is aiming for an 80 to 95% decrease in transport-related emissions.  The Commission believes widespread deployment of green transportation options, such as electric vehicles, public transportation and low-carbon and sustainable fuels will go a long way to achieving this goal.

The initiative calls for, among other things, Europe-wide standards for electric vehicle charging by 2011, continued research into low-carbon and energy efficient methods of transportation, financial incentives to encourage consumers and will work with the European Investment Bank to catalyze funding for green vehicle infrastructure and services.

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China’s largely untapped vehicle market is becoming more and more attractive for electric vehicle manufacturers, service providers and investors.  Newfound economic prosperity has resulted in many first-time vehicle purchases amongst Chinese citizens.  In 2009, 2% of China’s population owned cars, and 80% of new motor vehicle sales went to first-time buyers.

According to HSBC research, China’s share of the world electric vehicle market will jump from 2.7% to 35% in the next ten years.  During this rapid period of growth, HSBC expects China to push past the United States and Japan.

There is a rapidly growing, yet little serviced market here, and many believe this is a perfect opening to jump in.  A recent example is Better Place, the electric vehicle service provider which aims to install vehicle charging networks to support an electric vehicle infrastructure.  Better Place has inked a deal with Chery Automobile, China’s largest independent auto producer and a major exporter of electric vehicle technology, and will bring its business to the Chinese market for the first time.

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Sales of hybrid and electric vehicles are expected to jump over the next decade as the world weans itself off of conventional gasoline powered cars.

In a new report, Pike Research predicts hybrid sales in the global fleet sector will total 4 million by 2015.  The North American market will experience the most growth as awareness of the energy savings properties of hybrid vehicles grows.  By 2015, nearly 10% of all buses sold will be hybrids, the report says.

Carlos Ghosn, the CEO of Nissan, is expecting similar growth in the global electric vehicle market, largely because of growing environmental consciousness.  ”I’m betting 10% of the global buyers will make a rational decision on what to drive.  And I think I’m being conservative at 10%,” he said.  According to consulting firm J.D. Power, approximately 50,000 electric cars will likely be sold in the U.S. in 2015.

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New Research Says Return to 2005 Peak is Unlikely

Oil demand in industrialized nations likely reached its peak in 2005, according to research from IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA).  Demand has dropped since then, and CERA analysts doubt it will ever get back there again.  Demand for oil began to fall in the developed world years before the global financial collapse.  In fact, outside of the transportation sector, CERA data shows oil demand has been roughly flat since 1980.  Population growth in developed nations has remained stagnant, and levels of vehicle ownership in these markets will soon hit their saturation point.  Taken together, these factors will decrease the demand for oil from the transportation sector in the years ahead.  The addition of hybrid and electric vehicles into the global auto marketplace will amplify this trend.  CERA expects demand to decline gradually until 2030, and by no means implies the “oil age” in developed nations will come to an abrupt end.  Rather, it predicts that as demand for oil weans, demand for natural gas will continue to grow.  Natural gas supplies have jumped thanks to high production from the U.S., and new policy initiatives that support cleaner burning fuels will also help the industry to grow.

New Report Finds Major Potential in Electric & Hybrid Vehicles

A newly released report from Deutsche Bank says that electric cars have the potential to bring about the “end of the oil age” as we know it.  The report, entitled “The Peak Oil Market,” says the lack of investment in new discovery and production by global oil industry giants may result in a dangerous price crunch in the coming years.  Deutsche Bank postulates that oil prices will return to their record highs of last summer, possibly reaching $175 per barrel by 2016.  However, once the electric and hybrid car market takes hold, by 2030, DB predicts oil prices may drop down to $70 again as the world weans itself off its addition to gasoline.  Deutsche Bank calls electric and hybrid vehicles “disruptive technologies” which possess the potential to “reverse the dynamics of world oil demand.” If these types of vehicles achieve wide-spread commercialization, as they are expected to, DB expects demand for conventional gasoline will head into an “inexorable and accelerating decline.”

China & India are World’s Fastest Growing Car Markets

The Economist Foresees Hurdles for Electric Vehicles

Over the next 40 years, the number of passenger cars on the world’s roadways is expected to increase four-fold to 3 billion cars.  China is likely to supplant the U.S. as the world’s largest car market; by 2050, there could be as many cars in China as there are on the planet today.  By that time, India’s car fleet may have increased 50 times over.  Already, automobiles contribute 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and rapid fleet expansion, especially in developing countries, has severely increased local air pollution.  Faced with these predictions, a year and a half ago Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said if the industry did not start producing cars will little or no emissions, the world would “explode.”  Chevy and Nissan have recently made headlines with their new electric models, and across the board, mainstream auto companies are producing fuel efficient or hybrid lines.  However, despite the promise of electric vehicles, a recent article in The Economist says the industry’s two largest hurdles – pricing and charging- have not gone away and require attention.  The Nissan “Leaf” and Chevy “Volt” cost almost twice as much as conventional gasoline cars, and they require nightly charging to keep their batteries full.  Until prices come down and charging mechanisms become more convenient, electric cars “may remain little more than a promising niche technology,” the magazine writes.