Ford To Build It's First Hybrid Electric Models For EU

Ford's Valencia plant in Spain will build the company's first hybrid models for European customers with two advanced technology derivatives of the all-new five-seat Ford C-MAX compact multi-activity model to be launched in 2013 – a full Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV), and a Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV).

Valencia was confirmed in 2009 as the European single source for all versions of the
all-new Ford C-MAX and Grand C-MAX which launch later this year, and which feature a range of highly efficient new Ford EcoBoost petrol and Duratorq TDCi diesel engines.

As part of the company's global sourcing strategy, the Valencia Plant also will produce the seven-seat version of the C-MAX for export to North America beginning in late 2011.

"The Hybrid Electric and Plug-In Hybrid Electric derivatives of the all-new Ford
C-MAX are great news for the Valencia plant and region, for Spain, and for Ford customers across Europe. These new advanced technology models are key to Ford's commitment to delivering a portfolio of alternative powertrain vehicles globally and to European customers in the next few years," said John Fleming, Chairman and CEO, Ford of Europe and executive vice president of Global Manufacturing and Labour Affairs.

John Fleming was speaking at a ceremony to mark the HEV and PHEV C-MAX announcement in the city of Valencia. He was joined by Spain's Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Señor Miguel Sebastián Gascón, and by Señor Francisco Camps Ortiz, President of the Generalitat Velenciana, the Valencia regional administration.

"Our Valencia Plant here in Spain will build these new C-MAX five-seat hybrid models exclusively for European customers seeking a practical, efficient and affordable environmental vehicle, while the export to North America of the new Grand C-MAX petrol model beginning in late 2011 opens a new era of production for the team at the plant," Fleming added.

Investing in Valencia
Total investment in the new Ford C-MAX programme in Spain over the next three years, including the hybrid models, is almost $410 million (over €300 million). Investment in the hybrid programmes is expected to be up to $36 million (around €27 million). The Spanish government and Valencia regional administration are providing the highest grant support in line with European Union requirements. The exact amount of this support will be determined at a later date.

"I want to thank the Spanish government and the Valencia regional administration for their outstanding assistance in supporting the C-MAX programme in Spain and, in particular, for helping to turn our hybrid vehicles plan into reality. Their support means that customers in Spain and around Europe will soon be driving the all-new C-MAX later in 2010, and from 2013 will be able to choose from Ford's first hybrid models to be launched in this region of the world," said Fleming.

The programme supports the Spanish government and Valencia regional administration's goal of establishing Spain and the Valencia region as important centres for advanced research and development in environmental engineering.

A Choice of Hybrids
Ford Motor Company has significant experience with hybrid vehicles in North America, and will now extend this expertise to Europe as part of the company's aggressive global electrified vehicles strategy.

The reason for building both full Hybrid Electric Vehicle and Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle versions of the five-seat Ford C-MAX is to provide customers with greater choice to suit their specific driving and living environments.

Full HEVs charge their electric batteries through the use of the small displacement internal combustion engine along with energy recapture through the regenerative brake system, whereas PHEVs have the ability to also recharge their electric batteries through an external source, such as a conventional electric power socket.

"The extra benefit of being able to additionally recharge your batteries at home or other parking location means that PHEVs might better suit those customers who do the majority of their driving in city and other urban environments where electric battery power is the preferred powertrain alternative," commented Fleming.

Ford's Electrification Commitment
Today's announcement forms part of Ford's commitment to extend its global electrified vehicles strategy and introduce five Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) and Hybrid models in Europe by 2013. The C-MAX HEV and PHEV models will join the full battery-electric Ford Transit Connect, already announced for 2011, and a battery-electric derivative of the next-generation Ford Focus, due in 2012. The fifth vehicle will also be a hybrid-electric model and will be announced at a later time.

"Ford is a leader today in Europe when it comes to offering customers efficient and affordable environmental technologies, such as our ECOnetic range of ultra-low CO2 diesel-powered vehicles and our new EcoBoost advanced petrol engine range.

"The five alternative powertrains we will introduce by 2013 – including the new HEV and PHEV C-MAX models we are confirming today – strengthen our ongoing commitment to providing customers with access to significant fuel economy improvements and reduced CO2 emissions to meet their functional needs and without compromising their driving experience," said Fleming.

Ford's Global C-Car Strategy and the All-New Ford C-MAX
The new five-seat Ford C-MAX and seven-seat Grand C-MAX models are the first of at least ten new models or derivatives that the company will launch around the world based on its new global C-segment platform – Ford's first truly ONE Ford platform.

Ford's new generation of C-segment vehicles will be sold in more than 120 markets and will account for more than two million units annually. The C-segment accounts for one-in-four cars sold worldwide today and, in conjunction with the B-segment, is expected to rise to 50 per cent of all cars sold globally by 2013.

With the new C-MAX family of models, Ford's C-segment MAV customers will now have a choice of two alternative and distinctive models – the sporty five-seat C-MAX or the spacious seven-seat Grand C-MAX, which features twin sliding doors and innovative seat design for outstanding space and flexibility.

This all-new Ford C-MAX range also introduces a number of advanced new technologies to the compact MAV class. More often found only on larger or more premium cars, these technologies are focused on enhanced comfort, safety and sustainability, including the availability of new and powerful yet highly fuel-efficient low-CO2 Ford EcoBoost petrol engines.

The previous C-MAX model quickly established a reputation for providing a fine balance of enjoyable driving dynamics and impressive comfort. The all-new model is set to take that performance to a new level, giving drivers a class-leading combination of responsive, sporty handling, and overall refinement approaching the standards usually associated with larger, luxury vehicles.

The new C-MAX and Grand C-MAX models go on sale across Europe during the second half of 2010, while the seven-seat version of the C-MAX model for North America will go into production in Valencia in late 2011.

Magna Plans electric car joint venture

Frank Stronach, the colorful founder of Magna International Inc, will release his grip on the world's No. 3 auto parts maker in a deal that will pay him nearly $900 million and encourage outside investment in the company.

The agreement, unveiled on Thursday, will end a dual-share structure that analysts say crimped Magna's valuation. The Class A shares, the only class that will remain, surged as much as 23 percent on the announcement.

The company, based in Aurora, Ontario, had more welcome news for investors. It said it roared back to profit in the first quarter, easily beating analysts' estimates as global vehicle production rates climbed and cost cuts boosted the bottom line. Magna also reinstated its quarterly dividend.

The agreement with Stronach, who started Magna in a Toronto garage and built it into global player with a market cap of around $7 billion, would eliminate Magna's Class B shares, through which Stronach controls the company.

The Stronach Trust has about two-thirds of Magna's voting rights through 726,829 outstanding Class B shares. It would get 9 million newly issued Class A shares, or about 7.5 percent of Magna, and $300 million in cash.

If approved in court and by shareholders, the deal would give 77-year-old Stronach, who emigrated from Austria to Canada at the age of 21 with a suitcase and $200 in his pocket, an $863 million pay day, based on Magna's Wednesday closing price.

The new structure would give one vote for each share. Currently, each Class B share carries 300 votes, something Magna says deters would-be investors and hurts its share price.

"The point that they were making is exactly right," said David Tyerman, an analyst at Genuity Capital Markets. "The company has traded at a discount to its peers, and perhaps to its fair value, for a long time and one of the things that comes up time and time again when you talk to investors, is their dislike of the dual=class structure."

Magna trades at a valuation around 4.6 times its expected 2010 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Its peers average seven times their 2010 EBITDA.

Vincent Galifi, chief financial officer at Magna, said in a call with analysts that the deal, which could be completed by the end of the current quarter, would enhance the liquidity and marketability of shares.

Stronach, who is passionate about thoroughbred race horses, soccer and golf, is not retiring.

Part of the proposed deal would put him at the helm of a joint venture between Magna and the Stronach Trust to make electric and hybrid vehicles for other customers.

Stronach "feels Magna is part of his blood," said Don Walker, Magna's co-chief executive. "On a go-forward basis, he is a very big believer in the future of electric vehicles."

Magna would invest $220 million for a 73 percent interest in the joint venture. The Stronach group would invest $80 million for the rest of the stake but would have effective control with the right to appoint three of five board members.

The company's North American light vehicle production rose 67 percent in the quarter, while in Western Europe production rose 33 percent. Complete vehicle assembly sales rose 11 percent in the quarter to $446 million.

Magna said it now expects 2010 sales to be in a range of $21 billion to $22 billion up from an earlier estimate of $19 billion to $20 billion, on higher vehicle production and content per vehicle in North America and Europe.

Electricity-Generating Shock Absorbers

Shock absorbers that generate electricity, which are being developed by Cambridge, MA-based Levant Power, can lower fuel consumption by 1.5 to 6 percent, depending on the vehicle and driving conditions. The system can also improve vehicle handling.

Levant has demonstrated the technology in road tests with a Humvee and will expand testing to trucks, buses, and other vehicles this summer. The shock absorbers look like conventional ones from the outside, except for a power cord coming out of one end, and they can be installed in ordinary vehicles by mechanics. They plug into a power management device that can also manage power from other sources, such as regenerative braking systems, thermoelectric devices that convert waste heat into electricity, or solar panels. The power is then fed into the car's electrical system to reduce the amount of load on the alternator.

As in a conventional shock absorber, the Levant technology uses a piston moving through oil to damp down movement. But Levant has developed a modified piston head that includes parts that spin as it moves through the oil, turning a small generator housed within the shock absorber. To improve vehicle handling, the power controller uses information from accelerometers and other sensors to change the resistance from the generators, which stiffens or softens the suspension. For example, if the sensors detect the car starting a turn, the power controller can increase the resistance from the shock absorbers on the outer wheels, improving cornering, says David Diamond, the vice president of business development at Levant.

The system performs best on heavy, off-road vehicles moving quickly over rough terrain, so the company is targeting military applications. The company has emphasized using off-the-shelf parts, where possible, to keep down costs. Diamond notes that active shock absorbers have failed commercially in the past because they were too expensive. What distinguishes the new system is its relatively low cost and ability to generate electricity, he says. The shock absorbers and control electronics will cost slightly more than conventional shock absorbers, he says, but in applications such as commercial trucking, the fuel savings are expected to pay for the extra costs within 18 months.

Lei Zuo, a professor of mechanical engineering at Stony Brook University, says researchers at Tufts University and General Motors have filed patents on their own electricity-generating shock-absorber designs. He is also developing systems of his own that use no fluids, only electromagnetic resistance. He says one of the biggest challenges in designing such systems is making them small enough to fit into existing vehicles, yet ensuring they are still capable of converting a useful amount of electricity.

Levant does not plan to manufacture the technology itself, but rather to license it to a manufacturer or create a joint venture.

Will Lithium-Air Battery Rescue Electric Car Drivers From 'Range Anxiety'?

Twenty miles southwest of Chicago, government researchers are pursuing the automotive version of Mr. Right. He's powerful. He has endurance. He isn't too expensive to have around. And he never, ever explodes.

That's one way to think of the perfect car battery, which will have to balance many different factors to lure the American masses to the electric car. For the moment, though, Mr. Right is just a set of equations in a notebook.

"Theoretically, it works on paper," said Don Hillebrand, who directs the Center for Transportation Research at Argonne National Laboratory.

At Argonne National Laboratory and elsewhere, researchers are just beginning to crack the basic science behind a promising technology: lithium-air batteries. If their theories are right, these batteries will have five to 10 times the energy of lithium-ion batteries, the big battery pack that's powering the first wave of electric-drive cars.

"Lithium-air is where we're going," Hillebrand said. "You can't foresee the future, but right now, that's the place where I think we see the endpoint, the end solution for ... the battery. The battery everybody's looking for."

But as engineers get closer to perfecting the lithium-ion variety, lithium-air has a long journey to replace the batteries of yesteryear.

A good idea that's still en route

"Nickel-metal hydride's an adult. Lithium-ion is a developing adolescent. And lithium-air, we're just looking at the ultrasounds," Hillebrand said.

Some say lithium-air will only carry triple the energy of lithium-ion; others project a hundredfold increase. Regardless of the estimates, all agree that lithium-ion could use a tuneup.

The reason has to do with "battery chemistry," a term that describes what makes the device go.

Batteries have an anode and a cathode, two materials that exchange ions -- in this case, lithium ions. When the ions go one way, the battery charges up; when they go the other way, the battery releases its charge.

Different materials for the anode and cathode, of course, affect this back-and-forth movement. For example, they can speed it up, move a larger number of ions, or reduce the number of times the battery can repeat the exchange -- that is, shorten the battery's life.

Lithium-ion chemistry is considered an improvement over past efforts to power electric cars. Previous options were so large and heavy that they were just barely economical to lug around. Lithium-ion packed so much more energy into less space and weight that major automakers christened it for their latest lineup of electric and hybrid cars, including Toyota's Prius, General Motors' Volt, and Nissan's Leaf.

The change came at a price, though. Today, lithium-ion batteries are commonplace and commercialized for laptops and cell phones. But the larger batteries needed for cars remain their most expensive component -- and the one deemed most essential to helping millions reach the road.

In the coming years, many expect these costs to decline. Even so, plenty in the battery field foresee the day that lithium-ion, so essential to the present day, will face retirement.

A battery that could challenge petroleum

"Let's say we want to electrify the entire fleet of vehicles in the world," said Jeffrey Chamberlain, head of Argonne's Energy Storage Major Initiative and one of the lab's leading battery chemists. "Lithium-ion batteries will get us partway there. But in reality, they're not quite high enough in energy density or quite low enough in cost."

He called lithium-air a "dream-type battery": Look at the periodic table, he said, and the only element that carries more energy than lithium, for its weight, is hydrogen. If the models are right, lithium-air could get to that energy far better than lithium-ion, approaching the limit of what a battery can do. It could even rival the energy density of petroleum -- one of the most energy-packed substances on earth.

That would tectonically shift the economics of electric cars. Right now, carmakers face "range anxiety": They worry Americans will hesitate to buy an electric car that can only go a few dozen miles.

Chamberlain said lithium-air could banish that fear. "You really imagine instead of going 40 miles between charges, you could go 200 or 400 miles," he said.

The key to lithium-air is weight loss. Yang Shao-Horn, an associate professor of chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said lithium-ion batteries stuff lithium into a compound with metal and oxygen to keep it stable and play pingpong with the lithium ions.

Trading heavy metal for a battery that 'breathes'

A lithium-air battery, by contrast, skips the metal and attaches lithium to oxygen alone. On the other side of the battery, there's a porous material that "breathes" in oxygen and can play the other side of the pingpong table. Without the extra metal, Shao-Horn said, the battery gets much lighter, but without compromising the ability to hold energy.

But before the technology goes commercial, researchers have to pass a gantlet of scientific challenges. A material may "breathe" oxygen into the battery excellently, but it has little commercial potential if it's platinum or gold. Lithium in the anode reacts explosively with even a little water, so it must be sheltered with a stable and, yes, cheap substance.

Argonne guesses lithium-air could be 10 to 20 years from commercial readiness; Shao-Horn of MIT has said 10 years is probably too optimistic.

Part of the reason is that scientific work takes a long time to percolate to auto showrooms. Ronn Jamieson, General Motors' director of global battery systems, explained how every new battery idea has to undergo a vetting process that doesn't exactly zoom.

At any given moment, he said, GM knows of over a hundred ideas for battery chemistries being proposed by universities, laboratories and other companies.

He said GM doesn't dismiss any of these out of hand, but the first step is to check the science textbooks: "Is it physically possible? Does it defy the laws of physics or thermodynamics or anything else?"

If it passes that test, GM does what Argonne and everyone else do: They find one and beat it up.

Some researchers stick a battery cell in an oven for a year, gradually turning up the heat to 113 degrees and then 131 degrees Fahrenheit. Others dunk it in a swimming pool. Others short the battery and see if it blows up. One Department of Energy researcher shot a battery with a nail gun.

These aren't likely situations for electric cars, but battery developers want to be sure. They say just one high-profile mishap could spell doom for the technology. And so, Jamieson said, GM subjects every new battery technology to a year or more of tests.

In the labs, the U.S. may be leading the race

"Theoretically, if it can happen, you've got to at least assess and understand what will happen," he said.

If lithium-air is the "silver bullet" of the future, there are a host of lead bullets poised to come sooner. GM said it's working on lithium-air, next-generation lithium-ion, and other chemistries. Nissan and Toyota representatives didn't specifically mention lithium-air, but they said their advanced battery labs -- partnering with Japanese companies NEC and Panasonic -- are examining various chemistries.

The White House is looking to nudge the process, as indicated by DOE grants last week. The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy program awarded $34 million last week for breakthrough research in auto batteries. Two grants went to lithium-air proposals, but other ideas varied, from magnesium-ion to zinc-air to an "all electron" battery from Stanford University and Honda.

If they and other researchers make progress on the technology, the United States may be poised to grab the global lead. In an e-mail, Hillebrand said lithium-air is too young for any country to have cornered the technology, but "the U.S. and Japan have both recognized the potential, and the U.S. is probably ahead."

In an interview, he said Tokyo is funding labs that focus on lithium-air, among other chemistries. He hadn't heard of the technology developing in China or Korea: "I'd be surprised if it wasn't, though."

Nissan say Leaf EV Battery Pack Cost Only $375 per kWh

Over the past month almost 12,000 people in the US and Japan have made online reservations for the upcoming Nissan Leaf EV. The $33,000 vehicle, set to be released later this year, is the first affordable all-electric vehicle from a major auto manufacturer. It's an early adopter's dream. Now Nissan has revealed the secret behind the Leaf's reasonable price: a reasonably priced battery pack.

While we've seen published 'opinion' from the likes of Vinod Khosla, Boston consulting and engineering undergrads at Carnegie Mellon all predicted doom for EVs based on a lithium-ion batteries cost around $1000 to $1,200 per kWh, the Leaf's 24 kWh battery pack costs just $9,000 to produce, or $375 per kWh, according to a report in the Times of London. In comparison, the Chevy Volt battery pack reportedly costs $600 per kWh, and even the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium only has a goal of producing batteries at $400 per kWh by mid-decade.

To those with ANY knowledge of the market Nissan's price comes as no great surprise. The wholesale price for small format Li-ion cells has been around that level for several years. 18650 li-ion batteries have been sold on eBay at the price since at least 2006. The battery pack in the Tesla Roadster reportedly costs around $20,000 which for 53 kWh is around the same price per kWh as the Nissan battery.

Nissan say they have been working on EV batteries for the past 18 years and are currently working on a lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide cathode based battery that they expect to be fitting to Leaf EVs by 2015. With double the energy density of current cells, they will give the Leaf 200 miles range on a single charge.

Nissan expect this range combined with the money savings on EV running costs will 'tip' the market the same way the European market for Diesel cars 'tipped' 15 years ago. (46% of new cars sold in EU are Diesel, as high as 77.3% in France - caused by long term Fuel costs around the US$8 a gallon mark)

Japanese Firm Can Recharge EV’s Batteries to 50% in 3 Minutes

The Nikkei Japanese subscription news service reports today that Yokohama-based JFE Engineering Corp. has developed a charging system that can recharge an electric car's batteries halfway in three minutes.

The system, which is scheduled to go on sale later this year, works about five times as fast as existing products and will cost 6 million yen ($63,380), or 40 percent less than existing products, to install.

More convenient charging is likely to help electric cars catch on. JFE Engineering sees potential demand from gas stations and convenience stores. The JFE Holdings Inc. unit aims for 15 billion yen ($158 million) in annual orders by fiscal 2015.

Roughly the same size as a gas station pump, the system uses specially designed lithium-ion batteries to store power at night, when electricity costs about one-third as much as during peak hours. The batteries can deliver more than five times the current as existing products.

Typical high-speed chargers require more power than most business places are equipped to receive. When necessary upgrades are included, installation costs can run to around 10 million yen ($105,000).

JFE Engineering's charger runs on a standard power source. A gas station choosing this system over an existing product would save about 900,000 yen ($9,500) a year in electricity costs, according to the company.

Software changes and other adjustments to the car itself are needed to use JFE's charger at full speed, the company says. Without them, the charger will work only as fast as existing products. JFE Engineering plans to seek cooperation from automakers.

Altair Nanotechnologies Receives New $850,000 Purchase Order From Proterra Inc.

Altair Nanotechnologies, Inc. today announced the receipt of a follow-on $850,000 purchase order for its advanced lithium-ion battery modules required by Proterra to satisfy immediate end customer requirements for new all electric and hybrid electric transit buses. This purchase is a follow-on order from the initial $898,400 contract announced in August 2009. At that time, Proterra purchased battery modules for several zero-emission demonstration buses, one of which was displayed to Washington D.C. policymakers in October 2009.

"This latest purchase order will allow Proterra to meet its immediate customer needs while we work out the remaining details of the more comprehensive agreement. We have been collaborating with Proterra for over two years and are excited for the customer interest and traction that they are starting to achieve," said Terry Copeland, President and Chief Executive Officer of Altairnano. "We look forward to growing our mutual relationship as demand for Proterra's product increases as a result of the expanding availability of federal funding for transit bus purchases."

"Altairnano's battery technology coupled with Proterra's expertise in the design and manufacturing of efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally responsible transit solutions will give us a significant competitive advantage," said Jeff Granato, Chief Executive Officer of Proterra. "The distinctive performance attributes of Altairnano's battery technology specific to our customers' requirements will make our product offering unique."

Altairnano will supply Proterra with battery modules based on Altairnano's 1P10S configuration. Designed for use in commercial EV & HEV applications, the 1P10S module is expected to withstand the rigors of commercial transportation by offering high cycle life, reliability, and high power. The 1P10S module configuration features an operating temperature range between -40°C to +55°C (-40°F to +131°F), which enables battery modules to operate effectively in broad temperature extremes, from cold Boston winters to the summer heat of the Southwest. These 24-volt battery modules utilize Altairnano's 50Ah cell, feature a 10-minute charge when coupled with appropriate charging facilities and provide a cycle life up to 9,000 100% depth of discharge cycles.

The modules will primarily be used in the production of all-electric, 35-foot Proterra FCBE 35 transit buses. The FCBE 35 is the bus that demonstrated a fuel economy equivalency approaching 20 miles per gallon as measured by the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute at Penn State University. This achievement is recognized to be up to 400 percent better than today's conventional diesel or competitor's hybrid transit buses.