By John Addison (8/18/10)

Hot, Flat, and Crowded

An entire nation will be covered in 2011 with electric car charge stations. One car company has received a non-binding order for 100,000 electric cars. The company managing the entire project is Better Place, headquartered in Silicon Valley USA. Israel is the nation that desperately wants to end its dependency on oil from hostile neighbors. Renault is the French company supplying up to 100,000 vehicles.

The advanced lithium-ion batteries are made by AESC, a joint venture of Nissan-NEC. Any car with a depleted lithium battery can be recharged in hours or simply have a robot switch in a new battery in one minute. By the end of 2011, Israel will have 70 robotic switching stations so that cars can cross the nation without waiting for recharging.

Electrifying the transportation of a nation takes a lot of money. Better Place has over $200 million from venture capital investors. Better Place just received an added $350 million from HSBC, a financial giant with deep roots in Hong Kong.

The vehicle electrification of a nation involving technology and financial partners from many countries could be a poster child for Thomas Friedman’s bestseller Hot, Flat, and Crowded. In electrifying a nation’s automotive transportation, Better Place will provide program management, system integration, large-scale project financing, vehicle procurement, battery switch stations, and a network of charging stations. Better Place will deploy its sophisticated software services to support the network of charging stations, provider driver information such as the location of the nearest public switch station or charging unit, and provide the electric utility with all needed information.

Hugh McDermott, VP Global Utility Alliances for Better Place, included some details of the Israel project when I attended his presentation at Plug-In 2010 Conference. Already operational in Israel are a few Renaults converted to be plug-ins, a few charging stations, and two Better Place battery switch stations. Better Place will conduct a full system test of the network of charge and switch stations, including software, by October 1, 2010.

Thousands of new Renault Fluence Z.E., a stylish battery-electric 4 door sedan that seats 5, will be in daily use in Israel by the end of 2011. All of the new Fluences will support Level 2 smart charging with J1772 connectors. All will have removable lithium batteries that can be robotically switched in about 3 minutes. Fifty to 100 of the new Renaults will be in Israel by the end of 2010.

Better Place CEO states that he has placed an order for 100,000 electric cars from Renault; the Renault-Nissan Alliance states that 100,000 is a memorandum of understanding. In either case, the agreement is likely to result in thousands of Renault Fluences being delivered with switchable batteries.

150 fleet owners have signed to take delivery of the Renaults by the end of 2011. Thousands of individual orders are also expected. By the end next year, 1,000 Better Place charging stations will be available for these electric Renaults and other plug-in vehicles. Twenty battery switch stations are expected to be installed by the end of 2011. 70 stations would give all drivers in the nation a location every 25 miles to have a fully-charged battery in minutes. By law, all vehicles in Israel must be electric by 2020.

Shai Agassi’s Vision

Last month, I attended a speech by Shai Agassi, Better Place’s CEO and founder. TIME Magazine named him to the 2009 TIME 100, the world’s 100 most influential people, and one of TIME’s “Heroes of the Environment 2008.” He passionately spoke of a better world, cleaner air, reduction of climate risk, and energy security. He sees electric cars as less expensive over their lifetime and falling prices as battery price performance continues to improve. He envisions batteries being charged with renewable energy.

Shai Agassi envisions Better Place removing the higher upfront cost of an electric car, by allowing customers to lease or subscribe to the vehicles, batteries, and charging, much as your wireless provider includes mobile phones with wireless subscription plans. His speech emphasized the need for cars with switchable batteries, so that drivers could have the same “fast fill-up” experience that they now get at a gasoline station.

The subscription model is great. The program and project financing capabilities are welcome by the industry. Most auto makers do not want switchable batteries. Whether I talk with Ford, Toyota, or GM, battery packs are seen by automakers as their core competency. Most welcome the battery cells being made by battery giants, especially if they have a joint venture partnership, but the pack design, shape, and vehicle integration are seen as core to the automakers.

Renault-Nissan Alliance

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is open to battery switching. The Alliance is investing $5 billion in the development of electric cars. In 2011, Nissan plans to sell over 20,000 LEAF electric cars in the U.S. alone. Nissan future plant in Tennessee has the capacity of making 150,000 electric cars per year. The lithium-ion battery pack in the LEAF is not removable. In fact, it is shaped and placed for passenger comfort and car weight balance, not for switching.

Battery packs for Nissan and Renault electric cars are made by AESC, a joint venture between electronics giant NEC and Nissan. AESC also makes the removable battery pack for the Renault Fluence.

Renault will be selling four Z.E. (zero emission) models in 15 European and other countries in 2012: the Fluence larger 4 door sedan, the Zoe young-hip subcompact 4 seat city car, the Twizy 2-seater reminiscent of the GEM, and the Kangoo Van for commercial fleets. Nissan will be selling the LEAF in the U.S. Renault has no announced plans to sell the Z.E. family in the U.S.

Better Place’s battery switching could be a fairly ideal way to electrify millions of fleet vehicles globally. Better Place battery-switching is already being demonstrated at Nihon Kotsu, Tokyo’s largest taxi operator. Better Place is developing a partnership with Cherry Automobile in China. Large taxi and other fleets are in discussion with Better Place from San Francisco to Shanghai, and from Chicago to Copenhagen.

Although most major auto makers are unlikely to embrace switchable batteries for consumer cars, they would be open to business partners who purchase electric cars in volume and then provide them to consumers in a low-cost lease that includes vehicle charging and no worries about long-term battery depletion.

Better Place is positioned to be successful, even if battery-switching is confined to millions of fleet vehicles. Communities need program managers to pull all the smart charging infrastructure pieces together, finance vehicles and infrastructure, and provide the network software services to manage.

Shai Agassi was an executive at Apple and SAP. He has personally been part of taking disruptive technology and business models and making them billion dollar successes. In cities around the world his team and partners are creating a Better Place.

Better Place Moves Ahead with 100,000 Electric Cars is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

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By Juan Carlos Zuleta (8/12/10)

On March 29, 2009 I asked myself: Why Toyota (TM) and Honda (HMC) dislike lithium? My short answer to that question was: Because it was in their own interest to behave this way.

As is well known, these car makers pioneered the use of hybrid technology with nickel metal hydride batteries. Both created the conditions for a very profitable niche market, the hybrid electric vehicle market. So they had much to gain from delaying the arrival of the real electric car revolution since this would help them make more profits out of a rather obsolete but still commercially viable battery technology until the new emerging battery technology is finally introduced into the market. By doing so, they were also contributing to postponing the arrival of the sixth techno-economic paradigm with lithium as its main factor.

But this, of course, was a flawed strategy. In another blog published in April last year I argued that following a rather cautious and conservative approach to a lithium-based transition to electric propulsion in the global car industry implied their lagging behind General Motors insofar as electric automobile technology.

In a Seeking Alpha article published in July 2009, I went on to argue:

“Until now, most analysts thought that there was no real potential for use of Li-ion batteries in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs). They erroneously believed that Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries were the best choice for today’s HEVs, whereas Li-ion batteries were reserved for tomorrow’s Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV), Range Extended Electric Vehicles (REEVs) and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs).”

This argument, of course, never made sense. It rested on the unreasonable two-fold assumption that Li-ion batteries are not ready for prime-time and that plug-ins (and, for that matter, REEVs and BEVs) are a scam. For one thing, Hitachi’s notice tears apart the first half of the above contention. For another, Toyota’s latest decision to begin mass-producing PHEVs by 2012 and Nissan’s conviction that “now’s time to go electric” completely demolish the second half of it. Indeed one should not be surprised since PHEVs can be really thought of as an extension of HEVs. So if Li-ion batteries are to be used quite soon in plug-ins and both range-extended and battery EVs, then why not utilize them now for conventional hybrids as well?”

And I then concluded:

“Given both GM’s re-launch and Nissan’s renewed financial situation after having been granted a $ 1,6 billion loan to develop advanced Li-ion batteries for its new pure electric car, to retain its largest share in the automobile market of the world, Toyota will probably need to modify significantly its current conservative business strategy.”

As of now, both Toyota and Honda appear to have made some progress in this regard. Toyota has already launched its first 500 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) with Li-ion batteries for testing in Japan, North America and Europe and has recently announced that as part of its new partnership with Tesla it will mass-produce a new version of the all-electric RAV4 also with such advanced battery technology. Honda’s new CEO announced a few weeks ago that in the next-generation Civic Hybrid to be launched in 2011 it will use Li-ion batteries supplied by Blue Energy, a joint venture company between GS Yuasa and Honda.

The question is now whether these efforts will be enough to prevent Hyundai (HYMLF.PK) from leapfrogging them in the hybrid electric car market following its recent announcement that later this year it will launch the 2011 Sonata Hybrid, the world’s first mass-produced hybrid with a lithium-ion battery pack. And the most obvious answer at this point is: Probably not.

So this leads us to a new query: Will Toyota and Honda rethink their business strategy now so as to finally become more aggressive in terms of using Li-ion batteries in their next different car models? And my humble opinion is that chances are they will.

Will Hyundai Beat Toyota and Honda in Lithium-Ion Hybrids? is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

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By John Addison (8/9/10)

The San Francisco Bay Area will add over 5,000 electric car charging stations (EVSE) in the next 2 years and continue as one of the nation’s leading areas for electric cars. The Bay Area’s 7 million people live in cities that have adopted hybrid cars, like the Prius, faster than in 99 percent of America. One in 5 new car sales are hybrids in cities like Berkeley, Palo Alto, and Sonoma. The San Francisco Bay Area already has about 8,000 electric cars on the road from Tesla Roadsters to Prius Plug-in Hybrids to light EVs limited to 25 miles per hour.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District Board of Directors approved $5 million to support further development of a regional electric vehicle charging infrastructure program in the Bay Area. Most health damaging air pollution in the Bay Area is from cars and trucks. Electric cars and plug-in hybrids are also critical to achieving an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the SF Bay Area.

“The past several years have seen exciting progress in the development of electric vehicle technology,” said Air District Executive Officer Jack P. Broadbent. “Creating a useful charging network will make it easier for Bay Area residents to Spare the Air every day by going electric.” Mr. Broadbent will present at the CAPCOA Climate Change Forum at the end of this month.

The new program will leverage up to $5 million in Air District funds to support electric vehicle charging infrastructure grants including:

• 3,000 home chargers at single family and multi-family dwellings
• 2,000 public chargers at employer and high-density parking areas
• 50 fast chargers within close proximity to highways

The plan will especially help the majority of early adopters that do not have houses with garages. Electric cars with ranges of less than 100 miles are well suited for people who live in the urban density of cities like San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. Most in these cities live in multi-family dwellings such as apartments and condos. Chargers for these dwellings, places of employment, and key public areas will be critical to encourage the Bay Area’s 4.5 million car and truck owners to buy and lease electric cars such as the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt.

Dozens of companies are now offering electric car charging stations that are smart grid enabled with network services for drivers and fleets: Aerovironment, Ecotality, Coulomb Technologies, Eaton, and GE.

Over 20 percent of the SF Bay Area’s energy comes from renewable sources such as wind, hydropower, solar, geothermal, and biowaste from agriculture. Ocean power is being added. Coal power plants are not allowed in the Bay Area. The new electric cars can be programmed to charge at night when excess power is on the grid. As utilities make the information available, they can even be programmed to charge when excess renewables are on the grid.

5,050 Electric Car Charging Stations for SF Bay is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

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(7/26/10)

CT500 Level II Charging Stations for Residential and Light Commercial Use Coulomb’s Advanced ChargePoint Network

Coulomb Technologies today announced the availability of its residential charging stations for electric cars. Coulomb’s new CT500 Level II ChargePoint® Networked Charging Stations are designed for home and light commercial use. The announcement expands Coulomb’s spectrum of products for EVs from home to Level III fast charging stations. CT500 charging stations will be sold through Coulomb’s OEM and distribution channels. The ChargePoint Network is based on an open interface, standards-based architecture that provides station owners with a complete set of business applications to market and bill for electric transportation fueling services, and provides drivers with EV charging applications to make fueling easy.

The home charging announcement is timely. Nissan has received over 16,000 deposits for the LEAF, including one from me. We are getting recommendations to have Aerovironment inspect our garages and plan on average installation costs of $2,000 including electrical work. GE recently entered the smart charging competition with the GE WattStation EV Charger and will soon announce its home charger.

The CT500 charging station is a 7.2 kw single output station designed for residential and light commercial applications. The station delivers Level II (208/240 V @ 30 A) charging and is compatible with plug-in electric vehicles that comply with the SAE J1772™ plug-in electric vehicle-charging standard. The station’s small size and flexible network interfaces make it an ideal solution for utilities, homeowners, fleet managers, and auto manufacturers. The CT500 is compatible with Leviton’s recently announced innovative Evr-Green™ EVSE installation system. This industry-first prewire mounting system provides for simple plug-in installation for new charging stations.

Coulomb’s ChargePoint Network is open to all drivers of plug-in vehicles and provides authentication, management, and real-time control for the networked electric vehicle charging stations. The network of electric vehicle charging stations is accessible to all plug-in drivers by making a toll free call to the 24/7 number on each charging station, or signing up for a ChargePoint Network monthly access plan and obtaining a ChargePoint ChargePass™ smart card.

All Coulomb stations including the new home charger are network-enabled, capable of reporting energy usage and communicating over the network with Software Application Services and Network Support Services to activate capabilities such as:

Coulomb Announces New Home Charger for Electric Cars is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

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Update from the Plugin Conference (7/27/10)

Nissan made it official. The LEAF will include an 8 year, 100,000 mile warranty.

This matches the Chevy Volt and warranty plans by automakers such as Ford. The following article summarizes issues leading to Nissan’s decision.

By John Addison (7/19/10)

Nissan appears to be debating between offering a 5 year / 60,000 mile warranty for the Nissan LEAF, or an 8 year /100,000 mile warranty that matches GM’s offer for the Chevy Volt. Because lithium batteries are expensive, warranty decisions can make the difference between an automaker making and losing money on early electric car sales.

The stakes are higher for Nissan than for GM or Toyota. For the Nissan LEAF to deliver up to 100 mile range per charge, a 24 kWh of lithium battery pack is included, and a larger charge-discharge range is required than for plug-in hybrids with 40 mile and less electric range. Warranty decisions are not only major financial considerations for auto makers; they must also second guess future EPA and California ARB ZEV regulations.

Battery life is a function of cycle life. After a couple of thousand cycles, the battery delivers less range. Battery life is also affected by how people drive, whether the battery is fast-charged in minutes or charged in hours, and climate. GM’s Chevy Volt includes a 16 kWh battery for a 40 mile range; the Toyota PHV includes a 5 kWh battery for a 14 mile range.

The more batteries used, the great is an automaker’s need for a financial warranty reserve and the more it costs them to replace a pack. GM and Toyota have not announced prices for the plug-in hybrids. The Nissan LEAF starts at $32,780. If a customer is worried about battery life, they can lease a LEAF for $349 per month.

The LEAF uses a 24 kWh lithium-nickel-manganese polymer battery made in its joint venture with NEC, state of charge many need to be 80% of the battery to provide the 100 mile range. The Toyota Prius PHV uses a 5.2 kWh Panasonic lithium-ion battery, probably using 68% of the battery. The Chevy Volt uses a 16kWh LG Chem Compact Power manganese spinel li-polymer prismatic, probably using 55% of the battery.

Nissan Survey

Over 100,000 have completed their on-line form with Nissan, expressing interest in buying or leasing. Over 12,000 have made a deposit. Because my wife and I have made our $99 deposit towards ordering a LEAF, we received a survey from Nissan. Here are a few of the survey questions and statements:

After five years, the batteries will provide about 80% of their original capacity. Acquiring a Nissan LEAF involves some steps you may not be familiar with, such as having your home’s electrical system inspected and having a home charging station installed prior to taking delivery of the vehicle. MSRP is $32,780. With federal tax savings of $7,500, net price is $25,280.

Standard powertrain warranties vary both by manufacturer and by vehicle model. For example, the standard powertrain warranty for the Honda Civic is 5 years / 60,000 miles. For the Toyota Prius, the hybrid components are covered for 8 years / 100,000 miles. And Chevy just announced the battery of the Chevy Volt will be covered for 8 years / 100,000 miles.

If Nissan announced the standard warranty for the Nissan LEAF battery was 5 years / 60,000 miles, to what degree would you seriously consider purchasing or leasing the Nissan LEAF as your next vehicle?

If Nissan announced the standard warranty for the Nissan LEAF battery was 8 years / 100,000 miles, to what degree would you seriously consider purchasing or leasing the Nissan LEAF as your next vehicle?

Assume Nissan announced the standard warranty for the Nissan LEAF battery was 5 years / 60,000 miles. In addition, assume that Nissan offered an extended service contract at additional cost that extended coverage to 8 years / 100,000 miles. Thinking about the Nissan LEAF battery warranty, payment options $250 to more than $2,500.

The rate of battery capacity loss for the Nissan LEAF can vary by individual. For instance, more aggressive acceleration and braking, or extreme hot temperatures over 120 degrees, could cause a more rapid loss of capacity over time. Conversely, smooth driving, or moderate climate, could result in less capacity loss.

Assume the Nissan LEAF capacity is 80% after 5 years, or 70% after 8 years, on average, but could be higher or lower depending on these factors.

Race to Market

Early adopters like us will tolerate warranties of less than 8 years; mainstream buyers may not. Early Tesla enthusiasts forked over $100,000 for Roadsters with 3 year, 36,000 mile warranties, or paid extra $12,000 for extended warranties. Over time, automakers will face dropping lithium battery costs and have years of actual battery life data, enabling them to offer better warranties. When I bought a Toyota Prius in 2002, Toyota only warrantied the NiMH battery for 3 years. I could not buy an extended warranty for the battery. Toyota would not even give me a replacement cost. I bought the Prius despite all this. After 130,000 miles the NiMH battery was fine. I could have replaced it for $2,500 if needed.

The race for early market leadership is on between dozens of makers including Toyota, Tesla, Nissan, Ford, and GM. Initial purchase price will be a big factor in market leadership. Features and range will also be important. Toyota took the early hybrid lead with the Prius and continuous to be the dominate leader despite recalling millions of vehicles.

It will be tough to price aggressively and offering a long-life warranty for the expensive battery vehicles. Stay tuned for complete price and warranty announcements from the auto makers.

Top 10 Electric Car Makers in the United States Market

Nissan LEAF Battery Warranty is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

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GE CEO Jeff Immelt

By John Addison (7/13/10)

GE Smart Charging Stations for Electric Cars

General Electric intends to be the leader in smart grid charging of electric vehicles. GE’s Watt Station EV Charger was personally unveiled today by CEO Jeff Immelt. Globally, GE already helps thousands of electric utilities be more efficient in generating power and in distributing power. With a growing family of smart grid solutions including smart charging of vehicles, GE will help utilities lead in the intelligent generation, management, distribution, and use of energy. Mr. Immelt refers to this as Digital Energy.

After attending the presentation by Jeff Immelt and other luminaries, I was able to talk with Michael Mahan, GE’s Global Product Manager of EVSE.

The GE Watt Station is the first in a family of vehicle smart charging products and services from GE. It will be piloted this year at commercial sites and universities such as Purdue and the University of California San Diego. Within a couple of months we will see the announcement of a GE home plug-in car charger. These products will be made available commercially in 2011 simultaneously in all markets including the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Although GE’s press release positioned the Watt Station as having a faster charging rate than some competitive offerings, this Level 2 220 volt / 32 amp smart charger delivers electrons at the same speed as other Level 2 chargers such as Coulomb Technologies, Aerovironment, and Ecotality. These competitors have the early lead in installing 15,000 charging stations in the United States. GE is taking a fast-follower strategy with the intent of being the market leader.

The Watt Station complies with J1772 smart charging standards. Its attractive design will appeal to consumers, with a simply friendly interface and retractable cord protected inside the supporting pole. The Watt Station is modular and upgradeable. It can be purchased with an optional credit card reader, or that can be added later. Watt Stations also have optional smart suite communications to utilize smart metering and wireless AMI.

Where GE does have competitive advantage is in its long-term relationship with utilities, its family of end-to-end system solutions, its partnerships, and its financial prowess. Communities littered with last decades charging stations, some no longer working from bankrupt companies will find comfort in the GE brand.

GE Provides Digital Energy End-to-End

As global electric utilities modernize and embrace the added opportunity of transportation that depends less of petroleum and inefficient engines, and more on electricity and efficient electric drive systems, GE can be a major partner. Electric vehicles can be smart charged with GE charging stations, managed with GE software services. Areas with high concentration of electric vehicles can turn to GE for new substations and distribution equipment. Power plants can be upgraded with the latest GE turbines, and supplemented with GE wind turbines, solar power, and grid storage. With a digital energy demand can be shaped off-peak.

GE Unveils Nucleus™ and Brillion Home Energy Management

GE also unveiled Nucleus™, an affordable, innovative communication and data storage device that provides consumers with secure information about their household electricity use and costs so they can make more informed choices about how and when to use power. Nucleus is expected to be available for consumer purchase in early 2011 at an estimated retail price of $149-$199.

GE’s Nucleus brings the promise of the smart grid into consumers’ homes. As utilities deploy smart meters, the Nucleus will collect and store a consumer’s household electricity use and cost data for up to three years and present it to consumers in real-time using simple, intuitive PC and smart phone applications, helping consumers monitor and control their energy use.

Nucleus is the first product in GE’s Brillion™ suite of smart home energy management solutions that will help consumers control their energy use and costs. In addition to Nucleus, GE’s Brillion suite will include a programmable thermostat, in-home display, a smart phone application and smart appliances for the entire home.

By 2012, US utilities are expected to install more than 40 million smart meters. These digital meters enable utilities to charge “time-of-use” rates for electricity throughout the day. When demand is low, electricity will cost less, and when demand is at its “peak,” utilities will charge more to encourage off-peak consumption.

Future Brillion options will also include alerts to assist consumers with daily tasks, such as when to change the refrigerator’s water filter or when the dryer cycle ends. Software upgrades will further enable Nucleus to monitor water, natural gas, and renewable energy sources, as well as plug-in electric vehicle charging.

$10 Billion Ecomagination R&D

GE is driving a global energy transformation with a focus on innovation and R&D investment to accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy technology. Since its inception in 2005, 92 ecomagination products have been brought to market with revenues reaching $18 billion in 2009. With $5 billion invested in R&D its first five years, GE committed to doubling its ecomagination investment and collaborate with partners to accelerate a new era of energy innovation. The company will invest $10 billion in R&D over five years and double operational energy efficiency while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption.

CEO Immelt expects over 30 new ecoimagination product announcements in the next 24 months, including the GE Watt Station EV charger.

$200 million Challenge

CEO Jeff Immelt said, “No one is better at commercialization better than GE.” He does recognize that the innovation for that commercialization can come from a surprising range of innovators outside of GE. He announced a stunning $200 million open innovation challenge that seeks breakthrough ideas to create a smarter, cleaner, more efficient electric grid, and accelerate the adoption of more efficient grid technologies.

This funding from one company compares with the United States ARPA-E proposed budget of $300 million for next year.

The global challenge invites technologists, entrepreneurs and start-ups to share their best ideas and come together to take on one of the world’s toughest challenges – building the next-generation power grid to meet the needs of the 21st century. The challenge is one of the largest ever and is open immediately at www.ecomagination.com/challenge.

“Innovation is the engine of the global effort to transform the way we create, connect and use power,” Immelt said. “At GE we have invested broadly and deeply in digital energy solutions and see this as a substantial market for us, but we can’t do it alone. We want to work with our partners to make sure we have a comprehensive digital energy offering. This challenge is about collaboration and we are inviting others to help accelerate progress in creating a cleaner, more efficient and economically viable grid. We want to jump-start new ideas and deploy them on a scale that will modernize the electrical grid around the world.”

The Challenge, launched in collaboration with leading venture capital firms Emerald Technology Ventures, Foundation Capital, KPCB, and RockPort Capital, and Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief, Wired magazine, is part of GE’s ecomagination initiative, a global commitment to build innovative clean energy technologies and will help fund the most promising ideas. Proposals are sought in three, broad categories: Renewables, Grid and Eco Homes/Eco Buildings. Submissions can now be made. On September 30, the submission process closes, with awards announced on November 8, 2010.

GE is accelerating the commercialization of innovative systems that can reduce our dependency on oil, shrink our emissions of the greenhouse gases that create dangerous climate risks, and facilitate the efficient use of energy.

GE Bets 10 Billion on Digital Energy including Electric Car Charging is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

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Toyota Prius PHV Fights Chevy Volt

By John Addison (7/16/10; original 7/6/10)

As the world leader in hybrid cars, Toyota is fighting to extend that leadership in both plug-in hybrids and battery electric cars. In plug-in hybrids, GM plans on first mover advantage with the Chevy Volt. In electric cars, the Nissan LEAF has a sizable lead over the Toyota FT-EV. But Toyota has more cars on the road with electric motors, advanced batteries, and electric drive systems than all competitors put together. Toyota does not like second place.

In talking today with Toyota’s Cindy Knight, she assures me that Toyota is on track on all fronts. A number of U.S. fleets are already driving the new 2010 Toyota Prius PHV including the following:

• San Diego Gas and Electric
• Zipcar Washington DC
• Ports of New York and New Jersey
• Silicon Valley Leadership Group
• Portland State University
• Qualcomm
• Southern California Air Quality Management District

By year-end, 600 Prius PHV will be on the road including 150 in the United States. A number will be in 18 month lease programs. In one prefecture in Japan, the Prius PHV can be rented by the hour. Ten of the Prius PHV will be part of Xcel Energy’s SmartGridCity program in Boulder, CO. Boulder residents will participate in an interdisciplinary research project coordinated by the University of Colorado at Boulder Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI), a new joint venture between the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

During the test of 600 plug-in hybrids, Toyota will be receiving extensive wireless data from each vehicle, giving a near realtime profile of electric range, frequency and speed of charge, mileage, use, and reliability of the cars. Aggregated data will be posted on Toyota’s EQS Website

By 2012, Toyota will offer customers with a wide-range of vehicles with fuel efficient drive systems. The Prius will be the best seller, but the 2012 Toyota Prius PHV will be in demand from those who want to be greener with a 14 mile electric range. A compact hybrid will help the more price conscious buyers. The Toyota Camry Hybrid will continue to be offered. Lexus hybrids will continue to deliver at least 35 mpg along with their host of luxury appointments.

Ford will also offer customers a wide-range of fuel efficient and electric cars, starting with a Ford Focus that customers can buy as with ecoboost fuel economy, or as a hybrid, or as a plug-in hybrid, or as a pure battery electric. Ford will expand this range of offerings to other lines in the years past 2012.

Toyota’s Transition to Lithium Batteries

The 2010 Prius PHV has three lithium-ion battery packs, one main and two additional packs (pack one and pack two) with a combined weight of 330 pounds. In contrast, the Prius NiMH battery pack weighs 110 pounds. Each battery pack contains 96 individual 3.6 V cells wired in series with a nominal voltage of 345.6 V DC.

When the PHV is fully charged the two additional battery packs supply power to the electric motor. Pack one and pack two operate in tandem with main battery pack but only one at a time on the individual circuit. When pack one’s battery’s charge is depleted, it will disconnect from the circuit and pack two will engage and supply electrical energy to the drive line. When pack two has depleted it will disconnect from the circuit and the vehicle will operate like a regular hybrid. Pack one and pack two will not reengage in tandem with the main battery pack until the vehicle is plugged in and charged.

The Prius PHV’s larger HV battery assembly requires additional cooling. The vehicle is equipped with three battery-cooling blowers, one for each of the three battery packs. Each battery pack also has an exclusive intake air duct. One cooling blower cools the DC/DC converter.

Like all Toyota hybrids, the lithium-ion batteries are built to last for the life of the vehicle. Toyota is using lithium not NiMH batteries in its Auris hybrid. Mercedes, Nissan, Ford and others have announced hybrid plans using lithium. Will 2012 be the year that Toyota offers a hybrid Prius with lithium batteries? Toyota is not yet ready to say.

Toyota has a number of advanced battery R&D programs with nickel-metal, lithium-ion and “beyond lithium” for a wide variety of applications in conventional hybrids, PHVs, BEVs and FCHVs. Toyota uses Panasonic and Sanyo battery cells. When Panasonic acquired Sanyo, Toyota increased its ownership to over 80 percent in the Panasonic EV Energy Company which makes prismatic module nickel metal hydride and lithium-ion battery packs. Toyota also owns about 2 percent of Tesla, a major Panasonic partner.

Toyota FT-EV an Urban Electric Car

In 2012, city drivers will have fun with the Toyota FT-EV, a pure battery-electric car. Currently Smart car drivers are saving $20 per day squeezing into parking spaces too big for other cars. By 2012 Smart Fortwo and the Smart Electric Drive will have competition from the Toyota FT-EV which is over 4.5 feet shorter than the Prius. For the microcompact space, Smart is introducing an electric version, as is Mitsubishi with the iMiEV. All these cars can squeeze in four people with skinny waists.

Toyota’s FT-EV is an electric vehicle with a 50-mile range and a maximum speed of 70 mph. The lithium battery pack can be charged in 2.5 hours with a 220/240 volt charge and in less time if not fully discharged.

Report: Top Plug-in Hybrid and Electric Car Makers

Toyota Fights for Leadership in both Plug-in Hybrids and Battery-Electric Cars is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

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Carsharing SF Plugs-in

As people start ordering electric cars such as the Nissan Leaf, Tesla Roadster, and Chevy Volt, a vast network of charge points becomes more important. Drivers want to extend their range by hundreds of miles by charging at work, downtown, and on the road. Many who live in cities are interested in electric cars but do not have garages. They want work and public places to charge.

The automotive industry will reach a turning point during 2010, as it begins the gradual transition away from the internal combustion engine and towards electrification. According to a new report from Pike Research, this evolution will require a market-by-market expansion of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, ranging from residential equipment to public, private and workplace charging stations. The cleantech market intelligence firm forecasts that a total of 4.7 million such charge points will be installed worldwide during the period from 2010 to 2015. Electric Car Charging Articles. 

Thousands of new charge points are now being installed. Ford is promoting smart charging as it now takes orders for the Ford Transit Connect, next year for the 2011 Ford Focus EV, and in 2012 the Ford Plug-in Hybrid. Ford is partnering with Coulomb Technologies to provide nearly 5,000 free wall-installed charging stations for some of the automaker’s first electric car and electric delivery van customers.

Pike forecasts that by 2015, more than 3.1 million EVs, including plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles, will be sold worldwide. Pike Research’s indicates that competition from infrastructure providers will intensify by the end of 2011. Leading the first 20,000 U.S. charge point installations are AeroVironment, Better Place, Coulomb Technologies, and ECOtality. GE, Panasonic, Samsung, and Siemens are moving into the space with hardware and network services.

Pike Research’s study, “Electric Vehicle Charging Equipment”, analyzes technology and expansion issues for the EV charging infrastructure in global markets. It examines the market for residential, public, private, and workplace charging stations as well as reviewing the key operational and technological impacts of plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles on the grid. Analysis includes an in-depth assessment of market drivers and barriers, along with profiles of charging infrastructure vendors and utilities. Detailed forecasts for EV charging equipment are included through 2015. A free Executive Summary is available online.

4.7 Million Electric Car Charge Points by 2015 is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

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By John Addison (6/4/10)

Test Drive of Japan’s Most Popular Electric Car

Fortunately, the new 2012 U.S. iMiEV will have the steering wheel on the standard left side, because I am struggling with this test drive of the 2010 iMiEV Japanese version. Steering from the right-hand side is not so bad, but every time I use the “turn signal lever” the windshield wipers start flying. This is going to be a safe test drive, because the other drivers on this San Jose street are giving me lots of room.

Bring on the traffic; this little car has plenty of acceleration due to the torque of the electric motor. Although it is only 2,276 pounds, it feels solid due to a low-center of gravity with the lithium batteries embedded in the floor of the vehicle and the electric motor in the rear, providing real-wheel drive. Mitsubishi has done a good job of balancing the vehicles weight, which is easier to do in an electric car than one with an ICE with everything linked in the drive system. When I hit the brakes, stopping was quick but a bit uneven.

The 5-door hatchback feels like a roomy sub-compact inside. My 5 foot, 10 inch frame, fit easily in the driver’s seat and in the back seat of this 4-seater. The car is definitely designed for the urban environment. Parallel parking is a breeze, just nose in, turn off the car, and walk away. Mitsubishi is well experienced with small urban vehicles. Almost 40,000 of the 660 cc gasoline engine version of this vehicle have been sold since 2005.

Some 2,400 iMiEV are already being driven by their owners in Japan and Europe. By the end of 2010, Mitsubishi expects to have sold 5,000 of these pure battery-electric cars. Mitsubishi’s President Osamu Masuko drives this electric car today.

Bigger U.S. iMiEV on Sale Next Year

Late next year, Mitsubishi will start taking orders for the 2012 U.S. version of the popular iMiEV. Mitsubishi is currently suggesting a ballpark price in the low 30s, basically matching the Nissan LEAF pricing. Because the iMiEV only uses a 16 kW lithium battery pack, it could undercut Nissan’s pricing with the LEAF using 24 kW.

The U.S. model will have steering wheel will be where you want it. The wheel base will be 5 inches wider for the U.S. market, but the micro-compact will still be able to get those precious city parking spaces that no other car can take by the smart. The more powerful U.S. version will have an electric range of 50 to 80 miles between charging in real world driving. Mitsubishi cautions that some of its competitors are advertising ranges that will not be experienced by most drivers. The iMiEV includes an Eco mode that helps range by limiting excess power going to the motor and captures more regen energy on downhill. The high-energy batteries are made by Lithium Energy Japan, a joint venture company of GS Yuasa Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation.

Living in San Francisco, I see Mercedes smart cars everywhere, boastfully perched in neglected parking spots, saving the owners $20 per day in parking lot fees. Soon those smart cars will have to race for the spots and the iMiEV can beat them every time.

Specfications

• Dimensions (L x W x H) = 133 x 58 x 63 (2012 USA expected to be 5″ wider)
• Vehicle Weight = 2,376 lb (2010; 2012 USA expected to add 100 to 200 lb)
• Maximum Speed = 80 mph
• Electric Range 80 miles
• Charge Time
  • 6 to 7 hours with J1772 (220v / 15 amp)
  • 14 hours (110v / 15 amps)
  • 80% in 30 min (2012 = 18 min) with Fast Charger (Level 3 200v / 50kW TEPCO)
• Motor = 64 hp (47kW) Permanent Magnet Synchronous
• Torque 113 lb-ft
• Lithium Batteries = 16 kWh with 88 cells

Clean Fleet Report Top 10 Electric Car Makers

Mitsubishi iMiEV Electric Car 2012 U.S. Model is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

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By John Addison – June 3, 2010

Coulomb Technologies Smart-Charging for Ford Family of Electric Vehicles

Ford is promoting smart charging as it now takes orders for the Ford Transit Connect, next year for the 2011 Ford Focus EV, and in 2012 the Ford Plug-in Hybrid. Ford is partnering with Coulomb Technologies to provide nearly 5,000 free wall-installed charging stations for some of the automaker’s first electric car and electric delivery van customers.

Under the Ford Blue Oval ChargePoint Program, fleets and residents in nine designated markets could receive a free ChargePoint® Networked Charging Station with the purchase of a Ford Transit Connect Electric vehicle. The nine markets designated by Coulomb Technologies include Austin, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Sacramento, the San Jose/San Francisco Bay Area, Redmond, Wash., and Washington D.C. The installation of ChargePoint charging stations will begin immediately.

Ford plans to introduce five new electrified vehicles in North America by 2012, providing a range of products to meet a variety of customer needs. These include:

• A Transit Connect Electric small commercial van. Test Drive Report

• A Ford Focus Electric passenger car debuting in 2011. Test Drive Report

New USA Jobs for Plug-in Cars and Advanced Batteries

Ford’s increased use of lithium-ion batteries is also increasing jobs in the United States. Ford will make its own battery packs in Michigan, using Focus EV cells from nearby Compact Power, an LG Chem company. The plug-in hybrid cells will be made in Wisconsin by Johnson-Controls Saft. The U.S. made new lithium-ion batteries will be used instead of the currently Mexican made nickel metal hydride batteries. Over 6,000 new jobs are coming to Michigan just for advanced batteries. “Michigan will be the place where the electric vehicle and battery-powered vehicle will be researched, developed, produced, manufactured and assembled,” said Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

The Ford Blue Oval ChargePoint Program is part of Coulomb Technologies’ $37 million ChargePoint America charging station infrastructure project made possible by a grant funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the Transportation Electrification Initiative administered by the Department of Energy.

Coulomb Technologies Leads in Smart Charging Build-Out

Coulomb Technologies is a fast-growing venture capital backed firm headquartered in California. Coulomb’s ChargePoint® Network, is open to all plug-in electric vehicle drivers and provides authentication, management and real-time control for the networked electric vehicle charging stations. The network of electric vehicle charging stations is accessible to all plug-in drivers by making a toll-free call to the 24/7 number on each charging station, or signing up for a ChargePoint Network monthly access plan and obtaining a ChargePass™ smart card. Other future payment options include using any smart (RFID) credit/debit card to authorize a session or using a standard credit or debit card at a remote payment station (RPS) to pay for charging sessions. To locate available charging stations, visit mychargepoint.net and click “Find Stations.”

As electric cars start to ship with the new J1772 smart charging capability, Coulomb has taken the lead in installing a smart charging infrastructure with over 700 networked charging stations worldwide shipped to more than 130 customers in 2009. The ChargePoint Network provides multiple web-based portals for Hosts, Fleet managers, Drivers, and Utilities, and ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations ranging in capability from 120 Volt to 240 Volt AC charging and up to 500 Volt DC charging.

Smart charging will allow customers to save money by charging off-peak when rates are low. Major utilities also plan to inform smart charging station customers that excess renewable energy is available if that is their charging preference. Electric Utilities Facilitate Smart Grid

ChargePoint America will offer home and public charging stations to individuals and businesses. Businesses interested in applying for free public charging stations or consumers exploring an electric vehicle purchase can visit www.chargepointamerica.com for more information. Three automakers have committed to deliver electric vehicles in designated US regions. The Chevrolet Volt, the Ford Transit Connect Electric and Ford Focus Electric through the “Ford Blue Oval ChargePoint Program”, and the smart fortwo electric drive will be introduced along with this program. ChargePoint America plans to provide 4,600 public and private ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations by October 2011.

Clean Fleet Reports about Electric Cars

Top 10 Electric Car Makers for 2010 & 2011

5,000 Free Electric Car Charging Stations from California to New York is a post from: Clean Fleet Report

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