Hydro-mechanical diesel multiple units (DMUs), multiple unit trains powered by diesel engines, are needed in regional traffic.

In the last five years 25 European research institutions have joint forces to develop a rechargeable battery which uses lithium nano-particles.

A significant challenge for researchers in the field of rechargeable batteries is to construct batteries which can be charged and discharged quickly with only minimal energy capacity loss .

Dr. Mario Conte from the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, is Coordinator of the EU research project ILHYPOS.

The European HySYS project aims to take stock of the elements needed to manufacture an electric vehicle whose electricity is generated by a fuel cell. The fuel cell on board is powered by air and hydrogen.

The search for a new clean energy increases worldwide as the sources of natural energy diminish. The transport sector is especially vulnerable, by the decline in oil reserves, at the time when number of cars on our roads steadily increases.

The research team has redesigned the batteries which are now also able to store energy during braking and releasing it quickly during acceleration.

Together the engineers worked on the fuel cell propulsion system by upgrading the air supply, integrating a humidification system, redesigning the hydrogen supply line and developing a hydrogen sensor concept.

The new composite material contains double the volume of glass fibres compared to common composites and thus is extremely stabile.

By comparing the weights of latest Volkswagen Golf VI with its predecessor Golf I, built in 1978, the scale shows the difference: Golf I weighs 880 kilograms, Golf VI lets the numbers on the scale rise to 1.

The European Union has set a standard that emissions may not exceed an average of 130 grams CO2 per kilometre. This corresponds to the consumption of approximately 4,5 litres of fuel per 100km.

A delivery van double-parking and blocking the road . This could be a scene of the past according to Werner Schönewolf, who is developing new delivery methods for parcel services.

Fuel cell vehicles (FCV’s) are already in use, but only for demonstration purposes, and a good infrastructure for hydrogen refuelling is not in place yet.

To reduce the vehicle impact on the environment many companies are introducing new technology. Fuel cells came into the spotlight last year when leading vehicle manufacturers said they expect to introduce a few hundred thousand fuel cell vehicles (FCV’s) to the market beginning in 2015.

The cars today - even in their basic configuration - are equipped with many features: air conditioning, electric windows and airbags for example. The price for improved comfort and safety on board has been an increase in weight.

In Lille, France, buses are running on biogas produced from organic waste. Twenty-eight research partners gathered together to exploit waste for transportation system in Lille (France), Göteborg and Stockholm (Sweden), Haarlem (The Netherlands) and Rome (Italy).