While sales of the all-electric Nissan Leaf and range-extended Chevy Volt are beginning to ramp up, Pike Research is looking at the future of plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) in the country. A new forecast shows that there could be 359,000 PEVs on the roads of the nation by 2017, with California and New York being the most popular states for PEV sales.

In the Electric Vehicle Geographic Forecasts report, the team at Pike Research gathered data about potential PEV sales to create a geographic forecast model. The model will be helpful for power companies that want to get ahead of the trend and prepare their infrastructure for the electrified vehicles of the future.

The full report answers several key questions including:

• Which states have the greatest affinity toward electric vehicle ownership?
• Where will plug-in electric vehicle sales grow the fastest?
• How many vehicles will electric utilities have to prepare for?

The result of Pike Research’s careful analysis shows that California and New York will be the two states with the highest PEV sales over the next six years.

[Source & Read More: MNN]

3M is getting ready for a future in which more people drive electric cars.

The company is deploying two fast charging stations for electric cars on its Maplewood campus, anticipating electric vehicles will become more common in coming years. When they run on 220 volts, the stations can juice up a car in about four hours. They’re networked with other charging stations being deployed across the country. Via the Internet, the charging stations report if they’re available or in use. And they’ll send car owners a message when their vehicles are fully charged.

“This has really been put in place for guests and visitors to 3M,” said Tom Heim, 3M’s director of administrative services. “And also this particular unit has the fast and slow charge capability. Our parking ramps only have the slower charge ability.”

[Source & Read More: MPR News]

A series of visionary designs in a Citroën sponsored project have been unveiled at the Royal College of Art’s Interim Degree Show in London.

The Double Challenge project required RCA MA second year students to design a compelling ultra-compact model that could establish a unique Citroën e-vehicle aesthetic for the future. The project was jointly sponsored by Citroën and EXA, a France-based aerodynamic simulation software company.

Heikki Juvonen’s E-3POD Antistatic was chosen as the best overall design by representatives from Citroën’s Style Centre and Electric Vehicle Development Team. His single-seat creation is a bold and engaging take on an urban three wheel electric vehicle. The distinctive, aerodynamic styling features two smaller wheels at the front with the driver sitting inside a larger third wheel with an innovative hub-less design. As his prize, Heikki receives a six month employment contract to work at the prestigious PSA Design Centre in Paris.

[Source & Read More: EV World]

With oil once again approaching $100/bbl., investors are becoming increasingly bullish on everything alternative as solar, wind, and clean tech companies have all seen 2011 start off much better than 2010 ended up. This renewed optimism for clean tech investing has caused many investors to take another look at some of the industries most vital to the production of these components, such as rare earth metals and lithium.

This is especially important in the hybrid and electric car industry, where rare earths and lithium are increasingly crucial. Rare earths are used in the Nissan Leaf, the Chevy Volt, Honda Insight, and Toyota Prius, creating a broad base of companies in needs of rare earth metals to drive growth of new product lines. Lithium also plays a very important role as well; virtually all of the cars listed above rely on lithium-ion batteries to store power for their propulsion systems, ensuring that the production and development of these battery systems remain crucial for the next generation of autos as well.

However, many companies are growing increasingly concerned over the markets for these elements as a few choice countries–China for rare earths and the Andean nations of South America for lithium–control vast quantities of the world’s known supply, potentially putting a number of industries at the mercy of foreign governments. Due to this reality, many firms have begun to look for alternatives to rare earths in order to power new technologies that will not have to be victims to future supply disruptions. One company that is at the forefront of this development is Toyota, the world’s largest seller of hybrids, thanks in large part to the popularity of its Prius vehicle.

[Source & Read More: ETFdb]