By John Addison (1/23/12)

Pike Research’s John Gartner forecasts that global sales of hybrid and electric cars will grow from 995,000 in 2011 to 2,870,000 in 2017. Half the hybrid cars and all of the EVs will use lithium battery packs by 2017. In fact, the latest hybrid cars from Ford, Buick, Honda, Hyundai and Kai use lithium batteries not nickel-metal hydride (NiMH). In six years, cars with advanced batteries will triple and lithium automotive battery packs will grow over 100 fold. The forecast is only for light-duty passenger vehicles and does not include 16 million cars expected by 2015 to be start-stop vehicles (SSV).

Pike Research’s optimism was shared by others at Infocast’s 10X Advanced Battery meeting which I attended to hear presentations from Pike Research, other research groups, battery makers, auto makers, and venture capitalists.

John Gartner forecasts that automotive lithium battery revenue will grow from $2 billion in 2011 to $14.6 billion in 2017. Because battery-electric vehicles (BEV) use much larger packs than hybrid-electric (HEV), 2017 BEV revenue will be $10.8 billion, PHEV will be 3.2 billion, and HEV will be 0.6 billion.

Safety research continues. Much progress has been made in preventing lithium thermal runaways. In a crash test, the lithium battery in a Chevrolet Volt caught fire days after the crash. There have been no reported fires of actual owners including those involved in crashes. In contrast, there were over 180,000 fires in U.S. gasoline cars last year. The electric car alarmists continue to use their iPhones, Droids, iPads, and notebook computers that all use lithium batteries and do get dropped. We are not seeing a big demand for gasoline-powered smart phones.

Automotive lithium packs, including packaging, power electronics and thermal management, are forecast to drop from $752 per kilowatt hour (kWh) today to $523/kWh by 2017. At Clean Fleet Report, we speculate that automakers such as Tesla and Ford are already in that $500/kW ballpark today. Some are likely to reach $300/kW by 2020. Improved cell chemistry, hybrid car demand, and manufacturing volume will drive prices lower.

Will lithium batteries be a bubble like solar?

Solar cells are over 100 times cheaper than in the 1970s. We will not see such price drops for lithium, but prices will keep falling. Solar price drops in 2011 were great for homeowners and business that bought solar power, but the drops put several companies out of business. Solyndra met Darwin.

By 2017 it is possible that market share competition will lead to excess capacity and falling prices. Should that happen, packs would cost less than $500/kW. At the 10X meeting, patent attorney Matt Prater pointed out that Samsung, Panasonic, LG Chem, Toyota and Sony are leading in battery patents. The battle for market share is certain to be intense. Battery advancements for the automotive market will benefit stationary power and consumer electronics and vice versa.

Lithium is not the only game in town. Automakers continue to heavily use lead-acid batteries including improved chemistry for SSV. Many automakers, such as Toyota, continue to favor NiMH for hybrids for safety and cost reasons. Most electric cars use lithium batteries to supply the powertrain and lead-acid to support auxiliaries.

In this decade, lithium-ion is likely to dominate in electric and hybrid cars. The next decade is up in the air. Battery and automakers are actively researching solid-state batteries, magnesium, lithium-air and other metal air. General Motors is a stockholder in SAKTI3, which is making significant progress with solid-state technology that will lower battery size and cost. Toyota is actively researching magnesium, which is 24x cheaper than lithium and has better volumetric capacity. IBM and others are actively researching metal air batteries that could improve storage 10X with lithium-air. David Biello of Scientific American discusses alternatives such as flow batteries at Txchnologist.

Fuel cells are already commercialized in buses and forklifts. Several automakers plan to commercialize fuel-cell cars, crossovers, and SUVs in 2015 for fleets and consumers. This week I drove the Toyota FCHV, a Highlander SUV that uses a hydrogen fuel cell to extend the electric range to over 300 miles. The fuel cell works with the NiMH battery to supply electricity to the electric motor. I also drove the Mercedes B-Class F-CELL that extends electric range to 240 miles by utilizing a hydrogen fuel cell that works with its lii-ion battery. Both cars drove as smoothly and quietly as my Nissan Leaf.

Hyundai is making 2,000 Tucson FCV. The hydrogen fuel cells in these SUVs integrate an ultracapacitor into the fuel cell. More future cars may integrate ultracapacitors with advanced batteries and fuel cells. Different energy storage technology can complement – fuel cells have more energy density, capacitors more power density, and lithium batteries are in the middle of the two. Fuel cells complement li-ion batteries to extend car range. In automobiles, the long-term threats to li-ion batteries are solid-state, magnesium, and metal air.

The Top 10 Electric Cars all use lithium-ion batteries to free drivers from stopping at gas stations. As electric and hybrid car competition intensifies, Nissan, GM, Toyota, and Ford are in a race to sell the most vehicles with lithium batteries. In 2013, at least one of these automakers will sell over 100,000 cars with lithium battery packs. In the future, advancements in cell chemistry and manufacturing volume will allow more hybrids to achieve over 40 miles per gallon, extend the range of electric cars, and make these advanced cars affordable for millions.

Next week, I will be at the Cleantech Summit, where the future of energy will be discussed by Dr. Daniel Yergin, Dr. Daniel Kammen, Dr. Arun Majumdar and a number of other industry experts. Stay tuned.

Electric Car and Hybrid Car Sales will Triple in Next Six Years is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

Americans have already bought 17,000 Nissan Leafs and Chevy Volts.  Not bad for the first year.  When Toyota and Honda first introduced hybrid technology in the United States in the form of the now ubiquitous Prius and Insight, their combined first year sales were 9,350.  In truth, the Leaf and Volt represent the first widely available forms of two types of plug-in technology.  The Leaf is a full battery electric vehicle with a range of between 60 and 100 miles, well in excess of the average American’s daily driving needs.  The Volt is a plug-in hybrid that goes 40 miles in all electric mode, before becoming an efficient gasoline hybrid you can drive as far as you’d like.  2012 will see the introduction of many more full battery electrics and plug-in hybrids. Here are a few, broken down by vehicle type:

Luxury/Performance

• Tesla Model S: a full battery electric sedan that promises to seat five adults plus two kids, fit a surfboard inside, go up to 300 miles on a charge, and accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in 4.4 seconds (performance model).

• Fisker Karma a plug-in hybrid with dual electric motors that send 403 horses and 959 lb-ft of torque to its 22 inch wheels.

• BMW Active E: a full battery electric version of the BMW one series sports sedan.

Hatchbacks & Sedans

• Prius Plug-in: a plug-in version of Toyota’s iconic Prius that forgoes a large battery to save on cost and weight, but with enough all-electric range for average trips, and gas-sipping efficiency for longer distances.

• Coda: a ground-up, full battery electric midsize sedan with a 150 mile range and a body by Pininfarina.

• Ford Focus Electric: a full battery electric version of the sporty Focus hatchback that will compete with the Leaf.

• Ford Fusion Energi: a plug-in hybrid midsize sedan that Ford hopes will be the most efficient on the market with a predicted 100 miles-per-gallon equivalent

Sub-Compact

• Honda Fit EV: a full battery electric version of the versatile car that has been on Car and Driver’s Ten Best Cars list for the last six years running.

• Mitsubishi i: a full battery electric that boasts of the lowest sticker price of any currently available plug-in and the best EPA fuel economy rating of any car at 112 miles-per-gallon-equivalent.

SUVs & Minivans

• Toyota RAV4: a larger, more advanced re-incarnation of the all-electric SUV which enthusiasts have been driving since the 1990s.

• Ford C-Max Energi: a plug-in hybrid that is technically a minivan because of its sliding doors and third row of seats, but with visual lines that will not be confused with the Dodge Caravan’s of yesteryear.

As my colleague Simon Mui explains, if the California Air Resources Board keeps the Zero Emission Vehicle program strong, one in six cars in showrooms in 2025 will have the ability to drive emission and oil free.  Clear direction from state officials provides automakers the certainty needed to make long-term investments in the next generation of zero emission technologies.  With increased investment, comes increased consumer choice.  If one of the plug-in vehicles featured above doesn’t fit your needs, you won’t have to wait long for one that does.

From Sedans to SUVs, 2012, Year of the Electric Car? is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

By John Addison (updated 1/27/12; original 1/20/12)

Gartner, the largest technology market research firm, presented a scenario for 100,000 electric car sales in 2012 in the United States. Yesterday, I took in the presentation at the SV Forum and then talked with Thilo Koslowski, Vice President of Gartner’s Automotive and Vehicle Practice. He acknowledged that 100,000 is quite a jump from the 18,000 sold in 2011 which included 9,674 Nissan LEAFs, 7,671 Chevrolet Volts, and 655 other plug-in cars.

A week after this article was originally published, Mr. Koslowski sent a clarifying email, ” The 100,000 unit number isn’t our formal forecast.  The number is what you arrive at based on manufacturers’ plans/expectations for 2012.  I believe this number is rather ambitious and actual new EV and plug-in vehicle sales for 2012 will probably be around 40,000 to 60,000 vehicles.”

In 2011, Japan’s earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown affected everyone’s supply chain. The recession left most cautious about spending $30,000, $40,000, or more for unproven vehicles. Although some 280,000-gasoline cars catch fire in the U.S. annually, fires in some Volt test crashes lead to safety concerns. It was only mid-year that the Nissan Leaf received the top five-star safety rating from NHTSA.

Clean Fleet Report considers 100,000 to be a good forecast for U.S. EV sales in 2012. Nissan is manufacturing 50,000 LEAFs this year, then greatly expanding production next year with a new Tennessee plant. The Renault-Nissan Alliance is betting billions on electric vehicles and lithium batteries. GM has expanded manufacturing for global sales of 65,000 electric cars. At the SV Forum, Byron Shaw, who manages the Advanced Technology Office for GM in Silicon Valley, discussed GM sales of two plug-in hybrids in 2012 – the Chevrolet Volt, which he drives and the Opel Ampera in Europe and GM 2012 sales of a pure battery-electric Chevrolet Spark.. The new Cadillac ELR plug-in hybrid has also been on display at auto shows.

Electric Cars with Lowest Prices

Electric city cars will also fuel sales in 2012. The Mitsubishi i has a starting price of only $29,120 – $6,000 less than the LEAF. Toyota will enter the electric city car competition with the Scion IQ Electric. The Honda Fit Electric is no for sale. Car rental and car sharing providers are adding over 1,000 electric cars to their fleet. Car2Go already has 300 Smart Electric Drive Cars on the streets of San Diego in daily use.

Ford’s customer choice strategy will also attract more mainstream car buyers. The new Ford Fusion is available as an efficient EcoBoost engine or as a hybrid with better mileage than any midsized sedan or as a plug-in hybrid that allows many trips to use zero gasoline. The Ford Focus is also available as a pure battery-electric. The new crossover SUV Ford C-MAX is also available as a plug-in hybrid.

Toyota knows how to sell millions of hybrids. The new Prius Plug-in Hybrid looks and drives just like the best selling Prius. The new Toyota RAV4 EV is a pure battery-electric that looks like the popular RAV4 SUV. In 2012 and 2013, Toyota leverage its hybrid brand into plug-in cars.

One hundred thousand electric car sales in 2012 is less than one percent of the 13.4 million U.S. vehicle sales forecasted by Gartner.

It is difficult to forecast which will have greater sales, pure battery electric or plug-in hybrid. With early enthusiasts, the battery-electric LEAF is the winner. The SV Forum was hosted at SAP that has 16 charge points and at least 20 employees EV drivers at its Silicon Valley office. LEAFs outnumbered Volts in visitor parking for the forum. The typical U.S. household has two cars. My wife and I share a Nissan LEAF and a hybrid. In 8 months, range has never been an issue. If one of us is driving over 60 miles we take the hybrid. As we progress from early enthusiasts to early adopters, however, the plug-in hybrid may win by eliminating range anxiety. Most compacts and city cars may be electric; most larger cars, crossovers, and SUVs may be plug-in hybrid.

By the end of the decade, according to several at the conference, the fuel cell may prove to be the better way to extend the range of an electric vehicle. They see the most fuel cell vehicle progress in Japan and Germany. GM, Toyota, Honda, Mercedes and others continue fuel cell vehicle development. Hyundai is building 2,000 Tuscon ix FCEV.

Challenges for 1,000,000 Electric Cars by 2015

Manufactures will certainly have the capacity to build a million electric cars by 2015. Renault-Nissan and GM are investing billions in plants in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Battery giants like LG Chem, Panasonic, and Samsung are also investing billions. The real question is will U.S. buyers have purchased or leased a million battery-electric and plug-in hybrids by the end of 2015.

Gartner’s Koslowski sees two big challenges. First, can the automakers create brands and marketing campaigns that make these vehicles compelling buys. Second, can automakers and battery giants continue to drive down the cost of lithium batteries or storage alternatives? Most buyers will not pay a premium for a hybrid or electric. Then again, millions each year buy premium cars, SUVs and trucks.  When drivers want a vehicle, millions convince themselves that one over $30K is right for them.

Thilo Koslowski sees 5 to 8 percent of all vehicles being battery-powered by 2020 and 20 to 30 percent by 2030. Urban markets are most promising, but many city dwellers do not have access to garages for charging. The political and media influence of oil giants could slow adoption in some countries. High oil prices could speed adoption. Since Europe and Asia have less appetite to subsidize gasoline prices, they could soon be bigger markets for EVs.

By the end of the decade, millions of electric cars are likely to be on the road. Exciting customer experiences, falling cost of ownership, and the price of alternatives will determine how many millions.

100,000 Electric Car Sales in U.S. in 2012 is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

By John Addison (1/4/12)

Volkswagen’s “Think Small” is ranked as the most successful campaign in advertising history according to AdAge.com. The ad campaign ranks ahead of iconic Nike’s “Just do it,” Clairol’s “Does she … or doesn’t she,” and Apple’s “1984.” VW’s agency DDB launched the “Think Small” campaign in 1959. The VW Beetle soared in popularity at the same time that GM, Ford and Chrysler cars were expanding, adding weight and growing fins.

Today, buyers looking for good value and fuel economy find subcompacts appealing and hatchback versions flexible in handling four passengers and cargo space. Popular models include Hyundai Accent, Nissan Versa, Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit, and Chevrolet Sonic. The new Prius “c” hybrid with an expected 60+ miles per gallon is likely to shake-up this entire category.

In cities where paid parking can cost $20, $30, or even $50 per day, microcompact city cars have loyal fans for maneuverability, fun driving, and squeezing in free parking spaces. Drivers love their MiniCoopers, Fiat 500s, Smart fortwos, and still love their VW Bugs.

Electric city cars are a great match for small car lovers. Most city drivers need far less than the range of smaller electric cars which may be limited to 50 miles on highways but double that cruising city streets and benefitting from regenerative braking. The new electric cars are fun, hip, and sized for crowded cities.

The electric city car sales leader is the Mitsubishi i. It can be purchased for $29,125, which is about $6,000 less than the larger Nissan Leaf. The Mitsubishi I only requires 16kW of lithium batteries; the LEAF, 24KW. Smaller lighter electric cars go farther with a kilowatt and therefore require less energy storage.

Even smaller than the Mitsubishi I is the Mercedes Smart fortwo electric drive. Car2go has 300 of these being used daily in its San Diego car sharing program.  This innovative program allows members to get in the two-seat EV at one location, park at a different location, and walk away. The Smart ED makes it easy for members to find parking places.

With most of our planet’s 7 billion people now living in urban density, automakers see a big future for city electric cars. I recently saw several at the LA Auto Show. Over 10 small electric cars will be on display at the upcoming North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Mitsubishi is taking electric city car orders and Smart is putting its electric fortwo in car sharing and fleet programs. They better move fast, because the competition is bringing many small electric cars to the U.S. in the next two years. Honda Fit EV will sales will soon start at a rather steep $36,200. GM will follow the success of its Chevrolet Volt with a less expensive, pure electric Spark EV. There is a Fiat 500 EV that may start sales next year.

Next to the U.S. may be an Infinity sport subcompact. Toyota Motor Corporation will go beyond its hybrid car leadership and bring us an exciting Scion IQ Electric.

The automaker that started “Think Small” is developing several electric cars including the Volkswagen E-up.

An electric car does not need to be a microcompact to get great range. It can be a hot sports car like the Tesla Roadster with its 240-mile range, or the Audi e-tron Spyder diesel plug-in hybrid, or the BMW i8 that Tom Cruise drives in Mission Impossible 4.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is developing a portfolio of electric cars that go beyond its successful 5-seat Nissan LEAF to include smaller urban mobility EV and larger electric vans.

For many that live in cities or university towns, an electric city car will be all that they want, especially with the availability of car sharing, transit and rail for other needs. Households with two and more cars will consider a small electric car as one of their cars to save money, have fun, and win the parking space battle.

Think Small – Electric City Cars is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

The Renault-Nissan Alliance and Better Place have signed an agreement to create a mass market for electric vehicles in Israel, an excellent target market for 5 reasons: (1) sales tax exceeds 60 percent for gasoline vehicles, (2) gasoline costs over $6 per gallon, (3) most driving distances fit the range of electric vehicles, (4) the nation does not want to be dependent on foreign oil, and (5) electric vehicles have strong government support.

Better Place plans to deploy a massive network of battery-charging spots. Driving range will no longer be an obstacle because customers will be able to plug their cars into charging units in any of the 500,000 charging spots in Israel. An on-board computer system will indicate to the driver the remaining power supply and the nearest charging spot. Nissan, through its joint venture with Japanese electronic giant NEC, has created a battery pack that meets the requirements of the electric vehicle and will produce it in mass volume.

As part of the solution, the Israeli government will provide tax incentives to customers, Renault will supply the electric vehicles, and Better Place will construct and operate an electric recharge grid across the entire country. Shai Agassi, CEO of Better Place, predicts that Israel will have over 100,000 electric vehicles in use by 2011. Although his forecast was not achieved in 2011, it is a realistic target. This will be 5 percent of the nation’s vehicle population. The number represents a significant step towards energy independence.

Denmark has agreed to a similar plan. Several United States cities are in early discussions with Better Place. For cities and nations that do not want to depend exclusively on a network of charging stations, Better Place offers an exciting alternative. Just as wireless service providers offer subscription plans with phones at discounted prices, Better Place partnerships may offer discounted electric vehicles with usage pricing plans. Annual use of an EV should be less than the average cost of $8,000 per year in the United States for using a gasoline-powered car.

Is Shai Agassi some idealist who is dreaming the impossible dream? Is he tilting at imaginary windmills? Hardly. Better Place has received over $200 million of venture capital investment. Agassi was a top executive at SAP, a corporation that became a global leader in enterprise software, successfully competing with giants Oracle and IBM.

Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Nissan and Renault, is noted for his financial discipline and corporate turnaround success. He is investing in the future. He sees some markets where his vehicles will be sold without batteries. The batteries will be leased by providers or where the entire electric vehicle will be part of a “subscription plan” such as Better Place.

A convergence of forces including unpredictable oil prices, improved batteries, congestion fees in major cities, and a growing middle class in Asia will cause the rapid expansion from 40 million electric vehicles to over 100 million globally. Today, these vehicles are predominately e-bikes and low-speed electric vehicles. By late 2010, however, you will be able to buy or lease a freeway-speed electric vehicle with a range exceeding 100 miles.

There is a major shift to electric propulsion. In Asia it is widely seen in electric bikes and e-scooters. In the United States, the first wave of popularity has been hybrid electric vehicles using advanced batteries and electric motors that assist smaller gasoline engines. In the United States today, inexpensive electric vehicles are limited to community driving and lack freeway speed and range. Not for long.

If you drive 10,000 miles per year, then you are only driving an average of 27 miles per day. In fact, 80 percent of the time, a United States driver does not exceed 40 miles in one day. Since most United States households have two vehicles, one of their cars could be powered only with electricity.

Yesterday, families and friends insisted that every vehicle be ready to go hundreds of miles on a moment’s notice and be big enough for the heaviest load of the year. Today, people realize that one vehicle can be used to travel 100 miles daily without needing a drop of gasoline. By the end of 2010, consider buying or leasing an electric car.

Get your discounted paperback or eBook copy of Save Gas, Save the Planet at Amazon. Gain a comprehensive understanding of electric cars, low-carbon fuels, and sustainable transportation.

Better Place and 100,000 Electric Cars for Israel is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

In 2007, hundreds of Silicon Valley’s brightest minds and most successful venture capitalists joined with many of California’s political leaders on a Friday night to celebrate California’s Cleantech Revolution and to raise money for the California League of Conservation Voters.

Many arrived in fuel-efficient hybrids. Martin Eberhard, then CEO and founder of Tesla Motors, arrived in a Tesla Roadster, a zero-emission vehicle that can accelerate from zero to 60 in 4 seconds. As I talked with him, it was easy to see why he was smiling.

When I rode in the Tesla, I held on as it accelerated, then held on to my wallet as I left this dream sports car. Hundreds had placed orders for Tesla Roadsters with 100 percent deposits of about $100,000 per auto. If you wanted this sports car, you needed to get in line behind Arnold Schwarzenegger, Google founders, and other luminaries who were eagerly awaiting their electric sports car.

With the average American household having two or more cars, the Tesla’s range is perfect for over 90 percent of Americans’ daily range. In less than 4 hours, typically while the vehicle is parked in the garage, the vehicle’s lithium-ion batteries can be recharged with a 220v outlet.

“Tesla intends to become a major car company with a full line of highly efficient – but also highly desirable – electric cars,” Eberhard said in 2007. “Our strategy is to enter at the high end of the market, where customers are prepared to pay a premium, and then move down-market as quickly as possible to higher production levels and lower prices with each successive model. This strategy also allows us to change radically the public perception of electric cars, opening the market for a full spectrum of electric car models.”

While major automakers are betting on new lithium battery chemistry in larger form factors, Tesla integrates 6,831 consumer-electronic-sized lithium batteries into an Energy Storage System, lowering the battery cost. Millions of these smaller batteries are made in high-volume, low-cost manufacturing. Amp hours keep increasing; prices keep falling.

Will advanced battery vehicle packs become affordable for most of us? The energy density of lithium-ion batteries has improved 500 percent in 15 years. With new energy storage chemistry, future electric vehicles could go much further at even lower cost. Japan’s METI has published a roadmap to reduce battery power cost 40 times by 2030, but a roadmap does not guarantee that this will happen. Experts debate whether battery costs can be significantly lowered.

Big-time success will not be easy for Tesla. Classic start-up problems delayed early deliveries of the Roadster by 18 months and pushed back plans for future five-seat sedans. Hundreds of pounds of weight needed to be added to the vehicle to meet established safety laws. Problems with a transmission supplier caused delays and ultimately resulted in software changes eliminating the need for a transmission. Tesla Motors is finding the field crowded with other automakers rolling out electric cars. Tesla is now financially strapped, going to Washington D.C. and asking for hundreds of millions in financial help. Tesla does deserve credit for generating renewed excitement for electric vehicles.

Tenacity paid-off. Tesla brought its exciting Roadster to market. The breakthrough 300-mile range Tesla Model-S Sedan is being ordered by the thousands. You can now drive the Roadster zero to 60 in 3.7 seconds.

Elon Musk’s Tesla Strategy for 2012

Get your discounted paperback or eBook copy of Save Gas, Save the Planet at Amazon. Gain a comprehensive understanding of electric cars, low-carbon fuels, and sustainable transportation.

Building a Company: 0 to 60 in 4 Seconds is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

Environmentally concerned car buyers worry that that switching to an electric vehicle does not help. They are concerned that instead of using one fossil fuel, petroleum, another will be used, coal. Many electric vehicles are three times more efficient than vehicles that run on gasoline. Mitsubishi Motors, an early leader in electric vehicles, estimates EV efficiency at 67 percent instead of 30 percent for a hybrid-electric and 15 percent for a normal gasoline vehicle.

Electric vehicles are more efficient for many reasons including the efficiency of electric motors. As an added bonus, electric vehicles can be lighter, using accessories that run on electricity not mechanical links to the drive system. Regenerative braking helps. Weight can be distributed more effectively in a vehicle. Best of all, the fuel can be local renewable energy not gasoline processed from foreign oil. Electricity is cheap compared with fuel from oil.

Lifecycle analysis using the coal-dominate United States energy mix shows less total greenhouse gas emissions from a battery electric vehicle than a comparable gasoline vehicle or even a hybrid. A good place to look at lifecycle comparisons is the Argonne National Laboratory, which publishes comparative studies and offers an extensive GREET spreadsheet tool for any organization to use.

Electric vehicle lifecycle emissions will usually be lower than the coal model. Over 25,000 of the first 40,000 electric vehicles sold in the United States are in California, where electric utilities are legally required to use a growing mix of renewable energy. Under a study commissioned by the California Air Resources Board, the Low Carbon Fuel Standard Technical Analysis showed that a unit of energy from California’s typical electric mix caused 27 grams of CO2 equivalent; from gasoline, 92 grams.

In reality EV emissions are still lower because many people are charging their vehicles at night when electricity would otherwise be wasted. Nighttime charging will increase as electric utilities install smart-meters that can be programmed to charge vehicles when rates are lowest. Nighttime rates are often only one-third of peak rates. Many buyers of electric vehicles also buy renewable energy credits or use solar power for charging.

While electricity is getting progressively cleaner as states mandate increased use of renewables, incremental gasoline is produced from sources with increasing greenhouse gases such as tar sands, coal to liquid, and the contemplated nightmare of oil from shale.

Get your discounted paperback or eBook copy of Save Gas, Save the Planet at Amazon. Gain a comprehensive understanding of electric cars, low-carbon fuels, and sustainable transportation.

Fueling Our Cars – Oil, Coal or Sunlight is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

Most of us drive vehicles powered with internal combustion engines. Tiny explosions in cylinders cause shafts to turn which deliver power to wheels. Energy is stored in liquid fuel, most often gasoline or diesel.

Electric vehicles use electric motors not internal combustion engines. You can probably find a number of smaller electric motors in your house running everything from the washing machine to the garbage disposal. You might also have a cordless power tool that you charge and then run with power from the internal battery. electric cars use the same approach. Plug in to charge the batteries and then drive away.

Although many people will be happy with the electric vehicle choices now offered, others would want more range, larger vehicles, and lower prices. All this is increasingly possible through steady advancements being made with battery and energy storage.

Early electric vehicles used lots of lead-acid batteries. Gasoline cars only need one lead-acid battery to power the radio and other accessories. Electric vehicles need far more battery power to provide a steady stream of electricity to an electric motor or motors. Lead-acid batteries are less expensive than more modern batteries, but they take up too much room and add too much weight to electric vehicles.

Nickel metal hydride has been the battery chemistry of choice for hybrid-electric vehicles. These batteries often deliver twice the power per weight over lead-acid. Nickel metal hydride costs more than lead-acid, but less than lithium batteries.

Lithium batteries often deliver twice the power per weight compared with nickel metal hydride, and at least four times lead-acid. Because lithium batteries cost more, they are not used in most hybrid vehicles. Lithium batteries are the energy storage of choice for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. Taking limited space on the vehicle, enough lithium batteries can be used to deliver 15 to 300 miles of travel only using the energy stored in the batteries. With more batteries large and heavy buses and delivery trucks run over 100 miles using only battery-stored energy.

The lithium batteries in the new electric vehicles are similar to the lithium batteries used in your notebook computers and mobile phones. Because millions of lithium batteries are manufactured daily, battery costs have dropped. To deal with the high cost of lithium batteries, some automakers use kits that integrate thousands of consumer-size lithium batteries.

When you store a lot of energy in a small place, there is the potential for fires and explosions. Every year people die from gasoline fires that started when someone crashed. Under some circumstances, batteries can also catch fire and even explode. Lithium can be vulnerable to thermal runaways, and although there is no evidence that electric vehicles are less safe than their gasoline cousins, safety is a concern.

Hundreds of lithium battery makers have developed sophisticated chemical combinations to make their batteries safer and deliver more for the money. Lithium batteries are used with special cathodes made of nanophosphate, lithium nanotitanate, manganese titanium, and other combinations of chemicals as companies optimize some batteries for quick acceleration, others for more range, and always for longer battery life and better safety.

Another type of energy storage is ultracapacitors, which are very efficient at storing energy, such as energy from braking, and delivering energy over brief periods of time. Some hybrid buses that stop at every corner use ultracapacitors, not batteries. Some power tools use combinations of ultracapacitors and lithium batteries to get the best of both. General Motors is evaluating using both ultracapacitors and lithium batteries in future generations of cars.

There are a number of other battery chemistries that can be found in specialty vehicles — from nickel cadmium to nickel salt. Currently vehicle makers are focused on three battery types, depending on whether they just need to power a few accessories or build a hybrid or build a battery electric vehicle – lead-acid, nickel metal hydride, and lithium. Somewhere in the future, a new form of energy storage may replace all three.

Get your discounted paperback or eBook copy of Save Gas, Save the Planet at Amazon. Gain a comprehensive understanding of electric cars, low-carbon fuels, and sustainable transportation.

Electric Car -How Does It Work? is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

By John Addison (

CODA New Price of $39,995 with 50% Larger Lithium Battery

My test drive of the new CODA showed that this new electric car is similar in handling and performance to the Nissan Leaf and Ford Focus Electric which I have also driven. CODA has at least 40 percent more electric range than the LEAF and Focus Electric which each have 24 kW lithium batteries in comparison to CODA’s 36 kW lithium iron phosphate battery. Battery size isn’t everything, but it’s a lot when driving an electric car 80 miles on the freeway and wondering if you will get home. Even with Nissan and Ford’s Eco modes, slightly lighter weight, and advanced engineering, CODA is likely to offer 40 percent more electric range.

For the past six months, my wife and I have been delighted with driving our LEAF. We have experienced 120 mile range on quiet streets going 30 mph, but on the freeway at 65, we starting worrying after driving 60 miles. For longer trips, we use our second car which is a hybrid. With the CODA we could have made some trips that were not possible or practical with the LEAF. CODA gives their car a target range of 150 miles per electric car in comparison to 100 for the LEAF or Focus Electric.

These 3 electric cars support the Level 2 standard for charging. CODA and Ford charge at 6.6 kW/h, double the speed of the 2012 Nissan LEAF. This speed rarely matters at home, but when using a public charger it can make the difference between working at a nearby Starbucks for one hour instead of two. Since there are over 10,000 public chargers installed in the U.S., I’ve had great personal luck finding and using public chargers but double the charge speed would be great. The 2013 Nissan LEAF will match the Ford and CODA 6.6 kW/h.

Unlike the CODA, the current LEAF also includes a DC Fast Charge which offers an 80 percent charge in 26 minutes, or a lot less if you’re battery is only partially depleted. Nissan’s Mark Perry tells me that there are over 500 DC Fast Chargers planned for installation, but only a few in states like Oregon currently operational.

CODA is a four-door compact sedan that comfortably holds 5 people. It no more calls attention to itself than a Camry or Civic. With 14 cubic feet, it has more trunk space than competitors such as the LEAF, Volt, and Focus Electric, and much more than the Mitsubishi i. The competition however is five-door hatchbacks. Lower their backseats and plenty of cargo space is available when only traveling with two or three people.

My test drive car CODA costs about $41,400 because it included air conditioning. The interior is nice but not as nicely appointed as competition from Nissan, Ford, Chevrolet and others. It doesn’t have all the infotainment and telematics, but it probably has all the features of your current sedan. Like other cars with the instant torque of an electric motor, I had no problem accelerating around slower cars and maneuvering through hectic LA traffic. The CODA is certainly worth a test drive if you are considering an electric car and want more range.

CODA Corporate Overview

A car buyer wants some reassurances that a car company will be around as long as their 8 year lithium battery warranty. CODA’s past struggles with multiple changes of the CEO, difficulty to secure financing, and years of delay in manufacturing will cause some to buy from Nissan, Ford, and others.

CODA tells me that they are starting manufacturing. Then again, they told me that two years ago. A few cars are planed for delivery to their investors by year end. In 2012 Q1 deliveries to fleets like Enterprise Car Rental and SDG&E are expected. By mid-year consumer deliveries should be underway.

CODA Holdings is a privately held American company that designs, manufactures and sells all electric vehicles and battery systems. CODA’s initial vehicle, the CODA Sedan, a four-door, five-passenger all-electric vehicle with a range of up to 150 miles per charge.

Phil Murtaugh, CEO of CODA Holdings, comes from GM with extensive automotive executive experience. CODA headquarters/design/engineering center are in Los Angeles, California for its 225 employees.

Investors are made up of large institutional investors and high net worth individuals including former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. CODA has global joint-venture with Lishen Power Battery, a global battery cell supplier to Samsung, Motorola and Apple, for the design, manufacture and sale of battery systems called Lishen CODA Energy Systems. Together, CODA and Lishen developed a lithium iron phosphate battery cell for transportation and utility applications including renewable energy (wind and solar power) storage.

To reduce the capital intensive nature of the automotive industry, CODA controls all core vehicle design and engineering work internally while partnering with a global network of established manufacturers and suppliers. In total, CODA has more than thirty suppliers and partners on four continents. CODA’s supply chain partners include BorgWarner, UQM Technologies, Energy CS, Continental Automotive Systems, Porsche Design Studios, Delphi, Celgard, Novolyte Technologies, OMITEC, Lear and HELLA.

CODA Specifications

Dimensions

Vehicle Range………..up to 150 miles1

Top Speed……………. 85 mph (Electronically Limited)

Charge Time………….6 hours from 220V (30AMP EVSE)2

Occupancy…………….. 5 passenger

Cell Chemistry………..Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4)

Configuration……….. 728 cells (104s7p)

Energy………………….. 36 kWh

Nominal Voltage……. 333V

Wheelbase…………….102.4 inches

Track-Front……………. 58.2 inches

Track-Rear……………… 58.3 inches

Overall Length………. 176.4 inches

Overall Width…………67.2 inches

Overall Height………. 58.0 inches

Headroom

(front/rear)…………….. 35.5/31.7 inches

Shoulder Room

(front/rear)…………….. 53.0/52.4 inches

Legroom

(front/rear)………………41.3/30.3 inches

Trunk Space……………14.1cubic feet

Passenger Space…….82 cubic feet

Curb Weight…………..3,670 lbs

Motor Power ………… 100 kW/134 hp (peak)

Motor Torque…………300 Nm/221 lb-ft

Transmission…………..Single speed gear reduction

Drive Ratio……………..6.54:1

Suspension……………. Four-wheel independent with front

MacPherson struts & rear shocks

Steering………………… Rack-and-pinion with

electric power steering

Air Conditioning…….2.0 kW cabin cooling

DC:DC Converter….. 2.2 kW @13 V output

Charger…………………. 6.6 kW/240VAC input

or 1.3 kW/110 VAC input (back-up charging)

Wheels………………….. 17-inch 5-spoke wheels with 205/45/RF17 all-season tires

Brakes…………………… Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS)

Traction Control…….. Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

Airbags…………………. 6 airbag system (2 advanced frontal, 2 seat-mounted side & 2 side curtain), front seat occupant detection system

Seat Belts……………….3-point, pre-tensioned, load limited (front seats)

LATCH System………..Child Seat Restraints

Limited Vehicle………. 3 years/36,000 miles

Limited Battery……….. 8 years/100,000 miles

CODA Electric Car with 40% More Range than Nissan LEAF is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

By John Addison (11/10/11)

I am driving the new 2012 smart fortwo electric drive vehicle (smart ed) through the busy downtown streets of San Diego, America’s eighth largest city. San Diego presents itself as “America’s Finest City” with some justification. The temperature is in the sixties on this November day as ships sail in the vast harbor, towering office buildings offer dramatic views of the Pacific Ocean, and active people are in motion.

This little electric car is a weapon against the growing gridlock that grinds drivers to a halt for minutes or hours in morning and evening freeway traffic. I speak from the experience of driving I-15 and I-5 to conferences or when shuttling kids for family and friends. This new approach to electric car sharing now allows people to take express buses down HOV lanes and Coaster Rail from North Country to and from work, with car2go solving the problem of traveling the last one to 3 miles to work and popular destinations.

Walter Rosenkranz, a manager with car2go shows me how it works. Like any member, he displays the car2go app on his smartphone, sees the location of an available electric smart car a block away. Since this car is charging, he disconnects the Blink Level 2 charger then holds his car2go RFID card next to the car window. Walter kindly puts me behind the wheel then enters his pass code into the car2go navigation display on the dash of the car. I start the car and we take off in silence.

I drive us to Balboa Park, a popular destination with its vast acres, museums, and famous San Diego zoo. We park the car, sign-off and walk away. If we were paying members, this trip would have cost us only $3 or $4. We got there in minutes without the hassle of car rental or bus transfers. Car2go is a point-to-point car sharing service. You pay 35 cents a minute. If you use lots of minutes, you’re automatically lowered to $12.99 per hour. Keep the electric car overnight and pay $65.99 per day. No surprise fees are charged for being early or late, like some other car sharing services.

This point-to-point car sharing service has proven itself in Austin, Texas, with hundreds of the gasoline sipping smart fortwo. San Diego is an excellent choice for the electric car sharing, since a fast network of Blink and other level 2 chargers are being installed in public areas. SDG&E supplies the electricity using a generation mix that is 20 percent renewable, nuclear, and natural gas. There are zero coal power plants in California. San Diego already has over 1,000 drivers of Nissan LEAFs, Chevrolet Volts, Tesla Roadsters and other electric cars. San Diego Smart Grid / Electric Vehicle Report.

Convenient Program

The rental does not need to be ended every time at a charging station. However, if the battery capacity (state of charge) is lower than 20 percent, rentals must be finished at one of the charging stations, which are displayed in the on-board navigation. If the battery level is lower than 40 percent, drivers will receive 10 free minutes for re-charging the car. The charging does not need to be completed before a car2go can be rented again: if there is a minimum 50 percent state of charge, the vehicle is available for the next customer.

All 300 smart fortwo electric drive vehicles are equipped with latest telematics technology, allowing fully automated, easy and convenient rental operations. It allows customers to rent the cars spontaneously without having the burden to commit to a specific return time or location.

Behind the scenes car2go uses GPS and information technology to track where every car is located and their state-of-charge (SOC). Members can report everything from driving problems to dirty interiors through the car2go navi system or with an email or call. A maintenance team is put in place to clean cars. Customer service telephone support is available. At times bunches of cars will need to be relocated. For example, a growing number of cars could accumulate at a destination like Sea World and need to be moved to a popular pick-up point such as a train or transit center.

Smart Electric Drive is More Powerful

I look for a steep hill. The smart ED reaches 25 mph in one block, convincing me that it has the power for its San Diego service area. The version 2 drive system is an improvement over version 1. It does not have the power of a Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Volt or Mitsubishi i. I am not convinced this EV can handle the steepest hills of North Vancouver where car2go uses the more powerful gasoline smart fortwo. Next Spring, however, version 3 of the smart ed will have a drive system as powerful as the Mitsubishi i.

The smart fortwo electric drive vehicle is a two-seat city car. Only 8 feet long, it can fit in parking spaces that other cars cannot, a most useful feature in cities. The electric car looks just like its gasoline cousin the smart fortwo. The first generation of this smart ed was underpowered for hills with an electric motor with only a third the power of competitor Mitsubishi i. The version-two car, which is being put into daily car share and fleet use, has doubled the power of the electric motor. Version 3 will be the smart electric that becomes available in a year or two for individuals to buy or lease through dealers. That smart ed will out power the Mitsubishi I with a 55kW EM-motive electric motor, a joint venture of Daimler and Bosch. The vehicle will have 16kW of lithium battery pack, up from the 14kW in the car that I’m driving.

Daimler is the parent company of Car2go. In the U.S. we best know Daimler for its Mercedes cars. Daimler also owns smart. Although most individuals and fleets own cars, a growing number lease, rent, or simply use a car as an on-demand service. Car sharing has about one million members in the U.S. and the numbers are growing to include many who also own cars. Daimler is ahead of the curve to expand into car sharing.

Car2go started in Austin, Texas, with 200 smart fortwo gasoline cars in this useful point-to-point model. The car2go program is already very successful in the German cities of Ulm and Hamburg, and the Canadian city of Vancouver. More than 45,000 members have used the 1,100 car2go more than 900,000 times. The average duration of a car2go rental is between 15 and 60 minutes and the average range lies between 5 and 10 kilometers.

Its first two cities for electric car sharing are San Diego and Amsterdam, each opening in November 2011 with 300 electric cars each. Both cities currently have networks of hundreds of electric car charging points. By the end of 2012, each city will have over 1,000 charge points.

Expansion to at least 40 additional European cities will include a joint venture between Europocar and car2go.

Car Rental and Car Sharing Competition Put 5,000 Electric Cars into Service

The innovative electric car share program gives car2go competitive advantage, but it does face formidable competition. The giant in car sharing is Zipcar that is testing a few electric cars from San Francisco to Philadelphia.

Rental car giant Enterprise has 150 electric cars now available for rental. Many customers will prefer the Nissan LEAFs and Chevrolet Volts that are offered. By the end of 2012, Enterprise expects to be renting at least 1,000 electric cars including business programs for fleets and large multi-tenant complexes. Enterprise has expanded into car sharing with WeCar. Enterprise has a vast fleet of cars that can be rented in one location and left at another. Hertz also has Nissan LEAF rental pilots and has also entered the car sharing business with Hertz On Demand.

There is a friendly competition between German headquartered Daimler and French headquartered Autolib. Paris is trying 66 electric city cars in a point-to-point Autolib Blue Cars in a point-to-point car share program. The goal is to have 3,000 of these electric city cars available in Paris by the end of 2012 expanding on 20,000 Velib shared bicycle program now successful in the City of Light.

The race is on to provide us with more convenient choices as we navigate our busy lives. With smart phones and smart apps we can make our best choices during the day of using transit, driving our own cars solo when necessary, and using electric car share to start at one point and finish at another.

San Diego Gets 300 Electric Cars for Car2Go Car Sharing is a post from: Clean Fleet Report