GE Demonstrates “Electric Bus of the Future”

The hybrid systems research team at GE Global Research, the company’s central technology development arm, announced a significant breakthrough that could help accelerate the electrification of bus fleets, delivery trucks and other larger, heavy-duty vehicle fleets.

The GE team successfully demonstrated a dual battery system on a zero tailpipe emissions hybrid transit bus that pairs a high-energy density sodium battery with a high-power lithium battery.

While significant advances in battery technology have been made, further reductions in the size and cost of batteries will be needed to enable the widespread adoption of electric vehicles. GE researchers believe a dual system with high power and energy storage capacity could achieve the optimal electric driving range and acceleration requirements at a more practical size scale and cost for larger vehicles. The research is being done as part of a $13 million research project GE is engaged in with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium, funded under the National Fuel Cell Bus Program.

“Public transit and delivery service providers recognize the importance and benefits of transitioning to an electric fleet, but are looking for cost-effective solutions to make that possible,” said Lembit Salasoo, Senior Electrical Engineer and Principal Investigator on the hybrid bus project at GE Global Research. “With the cost of the battery remaining a principal hurdle, a dual battery system could bring these costs down and help accelerate the electric revolution for bus and delivery truck fleets representing hundreds of thousands of vehicles.”

“We’re entering a decade of unprecedented activity and developments in electrified transportation,” Salasoo added. “With heavier vehicle platforms, both energy storage and power are a premium to deliver optimal vehicle performance, but the exact needs can vary based on a vehicle’s size and drive cycle. The beauty of our dual battery system is that it can be scaled to deliver just the right combination of power and storage.”

Many of the 843,000 buses registered in the U.S. (including most of the 63,000 transit buses and 480,000 school buses) travel less than 100 miles per day. Enabling more of these buses to transition to an all-electric, zero emissions platform would dramatically reduce CO2 emissions and petroleum fuel consumption.

Most types of batteries today come with a trade-off between power and energy storage. For example, lithium batteries, provide a lot of power for acceleration, but are not optimized to store energy for driving range. Sodium batteries are on the opposite side of the spectrum. They store large amounts of energy, but are less optimized for power. GE’s dual battery combines the best attributes of both chemistries into a single system. In the hybrid transit bus demonstration, the lithium battery focused on the high power acceleration and braking, while the sodium battery provided an even electric power flow to extend the bus range. Each type of battery does what it does best.

In addition to optimizing performance, a dual system can reduce the cost of a battery by up to 20% compared to a single battery system for vehicle applications like transit buses and delivery trucks that require significant power and energy storage capacity. The key cost advantage of a dual system is that it provides flexibility to integrate less expensive battery chemistries without having to increase the size of the battery to address a vehicle’s power and energy storage needs. A single battery system would require a more costly scale up in the size of the battery to achieve the same result.

The development of a dual battery system and partnership with the FTA is a key part of GE’s growing hybrid and electric technology portfolio. GE is actively exploring partnership opportunities across the electric vehicle value chain through its Licensing business to commercialize its dual battery technology.

GE also is developing new technologies and products to support the integration of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and electric vehicles (EV) into the electric grid.

We’re building a new battery factory in Schenectady, New York, which will commercialize GE’s new Durathon battery with best-in-class sodium technology performance.
In July, GE announced the launch of WattStationTM, a new electric vehicle charging station that will be commercially available globally in 2011.
In April, GE signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the automaker, Nissan to explore new technologies that will be needed to build a reliable, dynamic smart-charging infrastructure.
In September, GE established a technology and financing partnership with Better Place to accelerate the global deployment of an electrical vehicle infrastructure through collaboration in four key areas: standards-based technology development, battery financing, joint fleet electrification programs and consumer awareness.
Building on these investments and research activities, GE announced it would purchase 25,000 electric vehicles by 2015 for its own fleet and through its Capital Fleet Services business - the largest-ever single electric vehicle commitment. GE will initially purchase 12,000 GM vehicles, beginning with the Chevrolet Volt in 2011, and will add other vehicles as manufacturers expand their electric vehicle portfolios.

GE’s activities in hybrid and battery technologies, electric vehicle charging and PHEV and EV grid integration are closely aligned with its ecomagination initiative. Ecomagination represents the company’s commitment to deliver new clean products and technologies to market that help solve our toughest environmental challenges. GE has more than 80 eco-certified products, including cutting-edge energy efficient lighting and appliance products, which have met the Initiative’s goal of improving both operational and environmental performance. Recently, the company pledged to double its investment in clean R&D over the next five years from $5 billion to $10 billion.

Audi A6 Hybrid footage

Audi will begin series production of the A6 hybrid, its second hybrid model after the Q5 hybrid quattro. The A6 hybrid employs an efficient parallel hybrid concept:

Its combustion engine, a 155 kW (211 hp) 2.0 TFSI, works together with an electric motor that delivers 33 kW (45 hp) and 211 Nm (155.63 lb-ft) of torque.

The electric motor sits directly behind the TFSI, occupying the space of the torque converter upstream of the modified 8-speed tiptronic. The transmission sends torque to the front wheels.

Electric Cars to Reach 20% of U.K. Vehicle Sales by 2016

Electric cars will make up 20 percent of U.K. auto sales by 2016 as drivers take advantage of government subsidies and lower fuel costs, according to National Grid Plc Chief Executive Officer Steve Holliday.

“Our base scenario has a million electric cars on the road in 2020,” Holliday, who runs the U.K.’s power grid, said in an interview in London. This would mean about one in five of all cars sold in the U.K. from 2016 will be electric, he said.

The U.K. is using subsidies to promote electric vehicles to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Motorists will receive as much as 5,000 pounds ($7,795) from January if they buy an electric or plug-in hybrid car. As much as 8.8 million pounds has been earmarked to support the development of a national recharging network, intended to boost the number of roadside plug-in points to 11,000 by 2013 from about 300 today.

The Nissan Motor Co.’s LEAF and Mitsubishi Motors Corp.’s iMiEV will be the first two electric cars to go on sale in the U.K. within the next few weeks, Colin Couchman, a London-based analyst with consultant IHS Automotive, said in a telephone interview. The cars will cost about 29,000 pounds and can be charged using a regular household plug, he said.

“At the start, people will plug in at home or at work,” he said.

In 2009, there were 31 million cars in the U.K., according to the U.K. Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, or SMMT. The average daily distance traveled by British drivers is 25 miles and the length of a single journey is 8.6 miles, the society estimates.

Struggle for Balance

While National Grid’s high-voltage electricity transmission system can manage the demand of 1 million electric cars, “penetration up and above that becomes a real issue,” Holliday said. Local distribution networks in cities like London may struggle to balance their grids if drivers choose to all plug in their cars at the same time, he said.

The cost of charging an electric car with the LEAF’s 100- mile range could cost as little as 96 pence and take between six and eight hours, according to an SMMT report. “Depending on how fast it charges, an electric vehicle can draw as much power as a house,” Bloomberg New Energy Finance analyst Albert Cheung said in an e-mail. “So if half a dozen neighbors plug in electric vehicles on the same street, it could push the local transformer over its rated capacity.”

Other incentives being adopted to encourage the use of electric vehicles in the U.K. include not having to pay central London’s 8 pound-a-day congestion charge and free parking in some neighbourhoods.

Total fuel costs of operating a standard car, driving 10,000 miles annually over a three year period, are around 2,767 pounds, compared with 756 pounds for an electric car operated over the same time period, according to the SMMT.

Across Europe

European emissions standards taking effect in 2014 that require carmakers to cut nitrogen-oxide emissions for diesel engines by 56 percent may boost demand for hybrid and electric motors. Few diesel cars now comply with the new, Euro 6 regulations.

The Euro 6 rules may help raise the share of hybrid and electric vehicles across Europe to 13 percent by 2020 from about 0.1 percent today, according to IHS.

European carmakers including Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, PSA Peugeot Citroen and Daimler AG are developing electric and hybrid vehicles to help meet tighter environmental regulations and expand the product line-up to boost sales.

Vatican keen on solar-powered electric Popemobile

The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI would gladly use an EV Popemobile as another sign of his efforts to promote sustainable energy and take care of the planet, but one has yet to be offered.

Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, who runs the Vatican City state, said Wednesday Benedict would certainly prefer an electric popemobile to a traditional, petroleum-powered one given the priority he has given to making the Vatican a leader in green energy.

His comments came during a presentation of a book on the Vatican's ecological efforts: "The Energy of the Sun in the Vatican." The book documents the 2008 installation of photovoltaic cells on the roof of the Vatican's main auditorium and the 2009 installation of a solar cooling unit for its main cafeteria.

The technology has won awards and garnered Benedict a reputation as the "green pope."

The Germany-based firm SolarWorld, which provided the photovaltaic cells on the auditorium, said Wednesday it has discussed the idea of providing the pope with a solar-powered electric car.

SolarWorld marketing chief Milan Nitzschke said the main hurdle is to get the Vatican security apparatus to sign off on it, since some still have concerns - unfounded, he said - that electric cars don't accelerate as quickly as traditional ones.

"It's really no problem," he said, noting that electric cars can go from 0-100 kph in three seconds.

"This is something we have to discuss with the people who are in charge of the security aspect, but of course this is possible and it would be a very, very huge symbol."

Lajolo added: "If he's offered a functioning, efficient and appropriately sized popemobile, why not?"

"It would also be a demonstration, a sign of his ecological attention. And we hope SolarWorld can furnish it," Lajolo said, though he added that the Vatican would be open to any other carmaker donating one as well.

When he's outside the Vatican, Benedict usually rides in a modified white Mercedes-Benz outfitted with bullet-proof windows; it has room for two passengers in addition to the pope, who sits on an elevated chair to wave to crowds.

Benedict has spoken out frequently, including in his encyclicals and books, about the need to safeguard Earth's natural resources.

"If you want to cultivate peace, protect creation," he exhorted in his 2010 message for the church's World Day of Peace.

Tesla Roadster Electro Car NO MOTOR SOUND full RACE ROC 2010

Two Tesla Roadsters at the Race Of Champions 2010, this time shot from the stands.

The crowd seem to enjoy the novelty of the cars silence and while a thick cloud of exhaust fumes is visible inside the stadium, we can be 100% sure the Roadsters didn't contribute to that.

The cars visually look slow compared to the other cars used at this event, but the Roadster is a road car compared to the Motorsport based equipment seen in other heats.

How It's Made: Chevrolet Volt (Video)

See how the first ever extended range electric vehicle is put together at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant.

Pioneering UK Firms are Switching to the Peugeot iOn

Its only been a few months since Peugeot announced it will be leasing out its all-electric car, but three firms have already moved to add the Peugeot iOn to their fleets, in order to provide cheap, environmentally friendly transportation in urban areas.

One such company, UK Grid, uses enough electricity to power over 4,000 homes a year but aims to be carbon neutral by the end of 2010. In order to achieve this goal, they are even using their own wind farm. The company’s current fleet of Porsches was deemed unsuited to such green ambitions, but rather then downsize to less powerful regular cars, they adopted the iOns which are perfectly appropriate for its urban-based drivers.

“The Peugeot range has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years and I believe 100 per cent that small, efficient cars like the Peugeot iOn are the way to go for a business like ours,” Rob Garbutt, CEO of UK Grid said.

Tube Lines is another such organization. Spurred on by the London Mayor’s drive for a greener capital, it is evaluating the Peugeot iOn before adopting a range of electric vehicles, including vans.

“I think the Tube Lines fleet can adapt to using electric vehicles; our engineers do 50-70 miles a week and, given the Peugeot iOn has a range of 93 miles, electric works for us. Besides, we have many facilities around the capital for fast charging,” as Phil Constable, Head of Specialist Services explained.

“I was also attracted to the commercial case for the Peugeot iOn, seeing that it is exempt from the Congestion Charge and ‘pay and display’ parking, too. Some of our staff are currently using public transport which makes them much less mobile when on site, and that’s where we could really benefit from the Peugeot iOn.

The technology is definitely in place now for electric vehicles to be a success, but it’s also reassuring that Peugeot’s warranty covers the vehicle, battery and electric drivetrain for the duration of the four-year lease,” explained Terry Melton, Fleet Manager for Appolo, another company that switched to the iOn.