Tag Archives: Auto Industry

AUTO INDUSTRY: Ford unveils ‘intelligent’ system for plug-in hybrids to communicate with the electric grid

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Ford PHEVIt seems that Ford has been aggressively researching the utility and marketability of electric vehicles such as hybrids, battery electric, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. This is certainly a prudent shift (though Ford’s prudence is arguably late) given the rising cost of fuel and the versatility of electric vehicles (e.g., hybrids can be used as a backup power source or generator, solar cells can be integrated into these vehicles, and they can be recharged from private renewable energy systems or via renewable energy purchased from the grid). Furthermore, the potential of using electric vehicles as energy storage devices for renewable energy is another factor that makes an aggressive switch from the inefficient, polluting, and wasteful internal combustion engine to vehicles powered by an electric motor alone smart corporate policy. From Ford:

“Electric vehicles are an important element of our strategy for improving fuel economy and reducing CO2 emissions,” said Bill Ford, Ford’s executive chairman. “This vehicle-to-grid communication technology is an important step in the journey toward the widespread commercialization of electric vehicles.”

All 21 of Ford’s fleet of plug-in hybrid Escapes eventually will be equipped with the vehicle-to-grid communications technology. The first of the specially equipped plug-in hybrids has been delivered to American Electric Power of Columbus, Ohio. Ford’s other utility partners’ vehicles will also be equipped with the communications technology.

When plugged in, the battery systems of these specially equipped plug-in hybrids can communicate directly with the electrical grid via smart meters provided by utility companies through wireless networking. The owner uses the vehicle’s touch screen navigation interface and Ford Work Solutions in-dash computer to choose when the vehicle should recharge, for how long and at what utility rate.

For example, a vehicle owner could choose to accept a charge only during off-peak hours between midnight and 6 a.m. when electricity rates are cheaper, or when the grid is using only renewable energy such as wind or solar power.

“We are designing what plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles will be capable of in the future,” said Greg Frenette, manager of Ford’s Battery Electric Vehicle Applications. “Direct communication between vehicles and the grid can only be accomplished through collaboration between automakers and utility companies, which Ford and its partners are demonstrating with this technology.”

Over the past two years, Ford and its energy industry partners have logged more than 75,000 miles on the plug-in hybrid test fleet. The plug-in hybrid research focuses on four primary areas: battery technology, vehicle systems, customer usage and grid infrastructure.

“Broad commercialization of electric transportation is not something a car company can achieve on its own,” said Nancy Gioia, Ford director, Sustainable Mobility Technologies. “Developing and producing the vehicles is just one part of the electric transportation equation. We are well on our way to delivering the vehicles, but for widespread adoption the infrastructure to support the technology needs to be in place and we need to ensure that the national electric grid can support increased electric demand.”

Real-world usage and laboratory research is helping to accelerate the advancement of electrified vehicles. Ford and its research partners are now focusing on ways to make the recharging process easy and efficient for consumers. In addition to low-cost recharging at home through the use of a smart meter, Ford researchers say recharging away from home – whether at work, in a shopping mall parking lot or at a curbside station – needs to be as simple as plugging in and swiping a credit card.

The plug-in hybrid advantage

Plug-in hybrid vehicles offer several benefits, including:

  • Reduced dependency on petroleum and increased energy independence
  • Reduced environmental impact through reductions in greenhouse gas emissions
  • Increased use of electricity from renewable energy sources (e.g. wind and solar) for vehicle recharging
  • Potential consumer cost savings on energy/fuel costs

    • For more information, you can download Ford’s “Vehicle-to-Grid Communications fact sheet.”

    Vehicle-To-Electric Grid CommunicationsFord PHEV

    Click on the image below to enlarge, or you can download Ford’s “Electrification Future” fact sheet, which contains additional information.

    Ford Electric Vehicles

    Image Found Here

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    ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Nissan to unleash electric vehicle onto the mass market

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    Nissan’s electric vehicle is called the Nissan Leaf, and it will travel up to 100 miles on a single charge. According to Nissan’s website, “The 100-mile range is in standard driving conditions – some highway, some city.” Most certainly for some consumers, a con to electric vehicles is the range (though I believe most folks can commute within 100 miles). To remedy this problem, Nissan says it’s currently working to inspire government and communities to provide the infrastructure necessary to recharge electric vehicles.

    Consequently, I wonder if these electric vehicles are versatile enough to have a solar system integrated into the vehicle to further increase the vehicle’s range. I submitted the following question to an expert at Nissan’s website: “Is it possible to integrate some type of solar system to keep energy flowing into the battery?” Someone else had already presented a similar question, and the response was this: “There are a lot of decisions yet to make. At this point, we can’t say if solar might be a future possibility.” This isn’t exactly the technical response I’m hoping to get.

    Currently, various private companies can convert the Prius into a PHEV. One company—Solar Electrical Vehicles—installs an additional solar roof that constantly recharges the battery, therefore, extending the PHEV’s range. Solar Electrical Vehicles “was created to develop a true solar charging system for Hybrid Electric Vehicles that provides increased electric driving range and improved fuel economy.”

    Although raw materials are certainly needed to construct the vehicle, Nissan is marketing the electric car as a zero emissions vehicle, since it doesn’t necessarily require a fossil fuel source to produce power. In fact, in response to this question—”[S]houldn’t i worry about the power plant used to generate the electricity too”—a Nissan expert notes, “Even in its dirtiest form, the grid is 60% cleaner than gas. And it will get cleaner over time, unlike gas.” Furthermore, unlike a gasoline or diesel engine, electric cars have no messy moving parts. More on this from the Irish Independent:

    Electric engines have no moving parts so they don’t need a clutch-operated gearbox. The effect of this is to make you feel utterly calm as the car smoothly moves from 0 to 50kmph in seven seconds. Revving inspires aggression — the linear acceleration on an electric car doesn’t. It’s a world without road rage.

    There are other new habits to learn: when I’m not pressing the accelerator, the car naturally slows down (the resistance also helps recharge the car whenever you’re not accelerating) so I don’t really need the brake apart from emergencies. And then there is the aforementioned silent engine.

    Some video of the Nissan Leaf

    Some images of the Nissan Leaf
    Nissan Leaf4Nissan Leaf5Nissan Leaf3Nissan LeafNissan Leaf2

    Images found here, here, here, here, and here.

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    HYBRID TECHNOLOGY: Driving 1,000 miles on a single tank of gas

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    Ford Fusion HybridThe Ford Fusion at right has travelled over 1,000 miles on a single tank of gas. More from the Times Online:

    The record attempt took place last month, and it may well have been the slowest driving race in history. According to Gerdes, if more people followed in his tyre tracks, it could help to save the world. You see, he and his team of six (including one Nascar racing driver) did the whole journey of almost 1,500 miles — the equivalent of travelling from Land’s End to John o’ Groats and more than halfway back again — on a single tank of petrol, at a cost of just $36.75 (about £24).

    What’s more, the car they drove was no ultra-light eco-buggy, but a Ford Fusion — a mid-sized, four-seat family saloon with a 2.5-litre engine, 156bhp, continual variable transmission and all the mod cons. The Fusion, currently on sale only in North America, includes hybrid petrol-electric technology similar to that of the Toyota Prius, but its fuel consumption figure of 49mpg for city driving isn’t particularly impressive — at least not by European standards.

    More about the new Ford Fusion Hybrid:

    Hat tip to Kevin.

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    AUTO INDUSTRY: Toyota Prius is best value

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    toyota-plug-in-priustoyota-plug-in-prius2toyota-plug-in-prius3chevy-volt3According to Consumer Reports, “the Prius is one of the best values you can buy,” and although the Prius “doesn’t have the least expensive sticker price in its class, . . . its excellent fuel economy of 42 mpg overall and solid resale value help give it a low owner cost.”

    Furthermore, a study by Carnegie Mellon University finds that “General Motors Corp.’s Volt electric car may be too expensive to buy and operate to displace Toyota Motor Corp.’s Prius hybrid as the industry benchmark for cutting fuel use and cutting carbon exhaust.”

    However, GM defends the Volt, asserting that the “baseline cost of the lithium-ion batteries used by the Volt” will not be as expensive as the study claims.

    Meanwhile, Toyota is testing plug-in hybrid versions of the Prius in Europe, and this “testing phase is a lead-in to the release of a lithium-ion battery-powered pure electric vehicle to be offered in Europe in 2012.”

    It will be interesting to see how the market responds to the Prius plug-in and the Volt.

    —
    Photo source for attribution here, here, here, and here. The authors or licensors of these images do not endorse my work or me and their images are protected under an attribution license.

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    AUTO INDUSTRY: Will the car companies take taxpayer money and sue? Yes.

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    Obama wants the EPA to take another look at California’s efforts to set auto emission standards tougher than the federal standards, so “should the agency allow a waiver from federal rules, states could require automakers to increase the fuel efficiency of cars and trucks far above current limits.”  However, The New Yorker reports:

    As California’s attorney general, Jerry Brown, observed today on NPR, “The irony here is the auto companies want a bailout, in many ways because they weren’t building the kind of cars that were compatible with today’s energy market—and at the same time, they want to keep going with their lawsuits, which have already cost millions and millions of dollars.”

    I’ve put in a call to the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents all the major automakers, and will let readers know when I hear back.

    UPDATE: Yes, they will continue to sue.

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