ELECTRIC VEHICLES MAGAZINE ISSUE 8 | JUNE 2013 | CHARGEDEVS.COM
A RELUCTANT
GEM
P. 48
the
FIAT
500e WILDCAT’S NEW CATHODE MATERIALS P. 22
PROTEAN’S PRODUCTION IN-WHEEL DRIVE P. 32
A CLOSER LOOK AT COULOMBIC EFFICIENCY P. 28
CLEARING UP OCPP AND COLLABORATEV P. 72
THE VEHICLES contents
DC Quick Charger • 208 Vac three-phase 20–50 kW output
48 A reluctant
• Access control, payment and networking options
gem
• CHAdeMO and SAE combined charging system—coming soon
The 2013 FIAT 500e
AC Level 2 Commercial Charging Station • 30, 48 and 70 amperes • Single, dual and optional Level 1 outlet styles • Field-upgradable payment and networking options for future-proofing
AC Level 1 & Level 2 Residential Charging Station
48
• 16 and 30 amperes
64 EVs in Paradise
• Ideal for single- and multi-family homes
Island EV markets
• Attractive stainless steel enclosure
80 Taxing EVs
Plug-in tax schemes, a state-by-state review
80
current events
12
13
Infiniti discusses plans for PHEV sports car 100,000 plug-ins have been sold in the US
13
Tesla reports quarterly profit, pays off DOE loan
Electric Vehicle Charging Stations on the
on
and at
road the go home DC Quick Charger
AC Level 2 Commercial Charging Station
AC Level 1 & Level 2 Residential Charging Station
...keeping you charged Learn more at Eaton.com/plugin
THE INFRASTRUCTURE contents
26
26 It’s on
Lite-On enters US charger market
73 OCPP
There’s definitely confusion, but is there controversy?
77 What we
know about Collaboratev
77
current events
20
Recargo and PlugShare EVSE locator apps merge
ECOtality introduces new residential chargers
21
Bosch introduces a Level 2 charger for under $450
21
THE TECH contents 22 Wild about cathode materials
Wildcat announces two new battery material breakthroughs
32
28 A closer look at coulombic efficiency
32 In-wheel house
Protean Electric leads the way for a new wave of wheel-hub motors
42
EVs: the Holy Grail of multiphysics
Sandeep Sovani on computer-based engineering simulations
42
58 Parker races into traction motors
The company plans to launch a new line of traction motors this summer
current events
58
14
Dana receives battery thermal management grant
Toyota ups production of lithium-ion batteries
17
17
Infineon introduces EconoDUAL 3 automotive-qualified power modules
19
NEI introduces solid state Li-ion electrolyte powder ANSI updates EV standardization roadmap
Publisher’s Note Positive indicators Finally, something to celebrate. While recent headlines have included a handful of EV failures, they’ve also included two inspiring milestones: Tesla posted a profit for the quarter and US plug-in sales exceeded 100,000. Sure, 100,000 vehicles Cumulative plug-in is a tiny fraction of the vehicle sales in the US total market and it’s short 100,000 of some early EV-maker 75,000 projections, but the first quarter of 2013 saw about $1 billion in new plug-in vehicle sales. So, 20,000 it’s a huge market and growth charts like this 12 13 May 11 20 20 20 one (based on automaker 2013 sales data, via EDTA) will only spur more investment. Tesla haters were quick to point out the government’s handwriting on the company’s quarterly report. They cried about how Tesla wouldn’t be profitable without $68 million it earned selling credits through California’s Zero Emission Vehicle program (which is apparently working as designed) and raised a stink over the $465 million Tesla borrowed from the Federal government (which was a loan, not a grant, and has already been paid back with interest nine years ahead of schedule). But the point is, Tesla has done it. The company took advantage of the government’s policies that are designed to help risk takers launch this entirely new industry. Where many others have already failed, Tesla is succeeding - a testament to the near-flawless execution in launching the Model S. While both of these milestones are mostly symbolic victories for the industry, there has been a very real shift in media coverage of EVs. When Fox News, a reliably harsh critic of EVs, recently ran a piece that repeatedly referred to Tesla as a “huge success,” and, for once, did not associate it with Obama’s “failed policy,” I knew the industry was having a good month. EVs are here. Try to keep up. Christian Ruoff Publisher
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Christian Ruoff Publisher Laurel Zimmer Associate Publisher Charlie Morris Senior Editor Markkus Rovito Associate Editor Jeffrey Jenkins Technology Editor Joey Stetter Contributing Editor Nick Sirotich Illustrator & Designer Nate Greco Contributing Artist Contributing Writers David Herron Jeffrey Jenkins Michael Kent Charlie Morris Markkus Rovito Contributing Photographers Chie Gondo Michael Kent Kanaka Menehune Nicolas Raymond Cover Images Courtesy of Chrysler Group LLC Special Thanks to Kelly Ruoff Sebestien Bourgeois For Letters to the Editor, Article Submissions, & Advertising Inquiries Contact Info@ChargedEVs.com
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CURRENT events 100,000 plug-ins have been sold in the US
Infiniti discusses plans for plug-in hybrid sports car
The Emerg-e two-seater, developed with help from Lotus Engineering, was unveiled at the 2012 Geneva show with a pair of electric motors and a 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine that cranked out a total of 402 hp. The larger Essence, which made its appearance in 2009, featured a hybrid drivetrain with a 3.7-liter V6, for total power of 592 hp. Whatever powertrain shows up in the high-end “halo” hybrid, it won’t be the one from the Nissan GT-R, which Palmer told Autocar was “not suitable for Infiniti.” He added, “There are all sorts of issues, especially around [noise, vibration and harshness]. Our target customers are not people who compromise, so we need to ensure we deliver the best of everything.”
12
Photo courtesy of Infiniti
Infiniti plans to launch a top-of-the-line plug-in hybrid sports car in the next three years. Infiniti brand boss Andy Palmer told the UK motoring mag Autocar that the new model will be “like the Tesla sports car option, but with more flexibility in terms of range,” and implied that it would use hybrid technology that the company explored with the Emerg-e and Essence concepts.
According to the latest estimates, the 100,000th plug-in vehicle was sold in the US some time in May. This total includes only “highway-capable” vehicles, not “neighborhood electric vehicles,” which number over 60,000 in California alone. The first of the modern generation of plug-ins, a 2010 LEAF, was delivered on December 11, 2010, and the first Volt followed on December 15. In 2011, total sales were around 17,500 units, and the Ford Focus Electric and Mitsubishi i-MiEV went on sale. In 2012, sales tripled to over 53,000 cars, as the Tesla Model S, Ford C-MAX Energi and Toyota Prius Plug-In joined the party. Many analysts expect the total to double in 2013 to over 100,000 vehicles in the US, and a similar number in the rest of the world. BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen are all expected to launch new plug-in models in 2013. Some fun facts, courtesy of Plug In America: • Over a quarter million people now drive or ride electric every day. • In some markets, the LEAF has outsold all other Nissan models for certain sales periods. • In April, Tesla’s Model S was the number-two model in its class, outselling the MercedesBenz S-Class, the BMW 7 series and the Audi A8. • Plug-in vehicle sales have grown far faster than hybrid sales did in their first few years on the market. • The US EV fleet now offers over 2,000 megawatts of battery storage, which may play a role in grid management as renewable energy sources grow in importance.
vehicles the vehicles
Tesla reports quarterly profit, pays off DOE loan early Tesla Motors, the Silicon Valley standard-bearer, announced a profit of $15 million for the quarter, or 12 cents per share. Most estimates on the Street were around 4 cents per share, and the stock, which had been accelerating for the few weeks prior, leapt into overdrive. There’s black ink all over the balance sheet. Sales continue to grow, and the company has increased its target for 2013 deliveries from 20,000 to 21,000. Total revenues for Q1 rose 83%, and total gross margin rose from 8% to 17%, as the company succeeded in squeezing out costs. It has reduced the hours required to build a car by almost 40%, and saved some $30 million thanks to improved inventory management. It’s not only Model S sales that are bringing in the cash. Tesla also earned $7 million supplying electric powertrains and battery packs to Toyota for its RAV4 EV, and components to Mercedes for its B-Class EV. Another source of revenue is credits sold to other automakers under California’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) program, and this may be the only potential crack in the windshield. Tesla earned $68 million, or 12% of revenues, from the sale of the credits this quarter, but concedes that this probably won’t continue. “We expect this to decline significantly in future quarters, as ZEV credits will only apply to about 1/6 of worldwide deliveries, versus roughly half of US deliveries, and the price per credit has declined…we are reaffirming our prior guidance of a gross margin of 25% in Q4 2013, assuming zero ZEV credit revenue.” The company took advantage of its vastly improved financial position to raise even more capital. It announced offerings of 2,703,027 shares of common stock and $450 million of convertible senior notes, and granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 405,454 shares of common stock and $67.5 million in notes. Delivering a welcome victory for the government’s policy of supporting American manufacturing, the company used the cash to pay off the loan it received from the Department of Energy nine years ahead of schedule, giving taxpayers a profit of at least $12 million on the original $465 million loan. The Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing
Loan Program, which was created under President Bush in 2007 and implemented by President Obama in 2009, has loaned out $34.4 billion to date, helping to create around 60,000 US jobs, according to the DOE. Most of the loans, including $5.9 billion to Ford and $1.4 billion to Nissan, are being repaid on schedule. However, most of the headlines have naturally been generated by failing Fisker, which received $193 million before the DOE cut it off, as well as bankrupt battery makers A123 and Ener1, and solar power firm Solyndra, which received funding under different federal programs. “When you’re talking about cutting-edge clean energy technologies, not every investment will succeed - but today’s repayment is the latest indication that the Energy Department’s portfolio of more than 30 loans is delivering big results for the American economy while costing far less than anticipated,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.
“
I would like to thank the Department of Energy and the members of Congress and their staffs that worked hard to create the ATVM program, and particularly the American taxpayer from whom these funds originate. I hope we did you proud. Elon Musk, Tesla co-founder and CEO
”
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JUNE 2013 13
the tech the tech
Ohio-based Dana Holding Corporation has received two grants totaling $3 million from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) to develop technology to improve thermal management systems for EV batteries. Temperature control is critical to maximizing battery life and reliability, especially in cold Canadian winters. The first project aims to advance the development of aluminum heat exchangers. It focuses on improving fluxless aluminum brazing materials and process technology for manufacturing to increase process speeds, enhance cleanliness during production, and reduce cost. The second project aims to improve battery performance in low temperatures by developing and integrating thick-film electric surface heaters directly into the battery cooling heat exchanger. For this project, Dana will collaborate with Datec Coatings of Mississauga, Ontario. The work will be completed at Dana’s technology center in Oakville, Ontario. Both projects are part of NRCan’s ecoENERGY Innovation Initiative, and are expected to last about three years. “Dana is excited to work with NRCan on this important issue as we aim to increase the life and operating reliability of batteries, which will lead to greater market adoption of electric vehicles,” said Dwayne Matthews, President of the Dana Power Technologies Group. “We will be using these grants to build on our foundational knowledge of electricvehicle thermal systems to help achieve higher levels of efficiency.”
14
Toyota, by far the largest seller of hybrid vehicles, still uses nickel-metal hydride batteries in most of its models, but it appears that it will soon be phasing in the newer lithium-ion technology, which offers lower weight and higher energy density.
3rd Gen Prius HV Battery
The Japanese business daily Nikkei reported that Toyota and Panasonic plan to build a new $194-million production line to produce Li-ion batteries, with a capacity of 200,000 units per year. It would seem that the company plans a gradual transition, as it sold 1.2 million hybrids in 2012. A Toyota spokesman declined to comment on whether the next generation Prius will use a lithium-ion battery. Toyota explored using lithium-ion batteries when developing the third-generation Prius, according to GreenCarReports.com, but admittedly pursued the wrong sort of lithium-ion chemistry, decided that it wouldn’t be cost-effective, and has continued to use nickel-based batteries for most of its hybrid lineup (the new Prius V is offered with lithium batteries in some markets, but the US version still uses nickel). Whatever the merits of Toyota’s battery strategy, it seems to be working - the five-millionth Toyota hybrid was delivered in March.
Photo courtesy of Toyota
Dana receives battery thermal management grant
Toyota ups production of lithium-ion batteries
Fuji Electric’s New 25kW DC Quick Charger for Electric Vehicles Reinvented in the New Year Featuring a Slimmer Profile to Suit More Locations and Applications
Fuji Electric’s 25kW DC Quick Charging Station has a reputation for helping station owners minimize utility costs; now it features a sleeker design to save them valuable space, too. EV owners will continue to enjoy the benefits of our cutting edge power electronics technology and convenient payment systems. The ability to recharge quickly and economically gives electric vehicle owners the reassurance they need to guarantee the continued success of the EV market. As a Global Leader with over 300 DC Quick Charging stations installed worldwide, we have the capability to support both charging and payment systems that promote the growth of EV infrastructure.
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the tech the tech
Infineon Technologies launched its new EconoDUAL 3 IGBT modules, which are fully qualified according to automotive standards. Automotive qualification means that the modules provide significantly increased thermal cycling and thermal shock capability, while a new soft diode improves the EMI behavior. According to Infineon, the optimized design and assembly technology enables more than three times better thermal cycling capability, while the thermal shock capability is increased by a factor of ten compared to the industry standard. The company says that the new modules are particularly well-suited for demanding applications in commercial, construction or agricultural vehicles where extended reliability is critical. The new products offer the highest power density (up to 600A, 1200V) available within this module footprint.
With the use of copper bonding technology as well as an improved DCB the output power can be increased by up to 30% when compared to the related 450A version. Samples of model numbers FF400R12ME4A_B11 (400A, 1200V) and FF600R12ME4A_B11 (600A, 1200V) will be available in Q4 2013, with volume production planned in the second half of 2014.
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Infineon introduces EconoDUAL 3 automotive-qualified power modules
the tech the tech
ANSI updates EV standardization roadmap
NEI introduces solid state Li-ion electrolyte powder NEI Corporation announced that it is making Li10SnP2S12 - lithium-tin-phosphorous-sulfide, or LSPS, available for sale in powder form. LSPS belongs to a family of “superionic” solids which conduct lithium ions at room temperature. Commercial lithium-ion batteries usually contain an electrolyte that is dissolved in flammable solvents. The use of a solid state electrolyte, such as LSPS, will eliminate the flammability issue associated with currently used liquid electrolytes. Sulfide compounds with high Li-ion conductivity are not commonly available, and the development of solid state electrolyte–based Li-ion batteries has been plagued by the lack of widespread availability of these difficult-to-produce materials. NEI has used its extensive background in the synthesis of advanced materials to develop a process for producing sulfide materials in a form that allows them to be used in Li-ion cells.
“
By making solid state electrolyte powders readily available in test quantities, our intent is to make it easy for Li-ion battery researchers to develop the next generation of allsolid-state Li-ion batteries. The NEI process is amenable to synthesizing variants of LSPS, such as compositional changes. Dr. Ganesh Skandan, CEO of NEI Corporation
”
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has released version 2.0 of its Standardization Roadmap for Electric Vehicles. This lengthy tome seems to address every conceivable standard that has to do with EVs, and it makes a dense but interesting read. Developed by representatives from more than 100 private- and public-sector organizations, the Standardization Roadmap aspires to maximize coordination among those developing standards for electric vehicles - primarily plug-in electric vehicles (both battery-powered all-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids) - and the charging infrastructure needed to support them. Highlights of the revision include: • the closing of four partial gaps on power quality, DC charging levels, the safety of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), and EV coupler safety. • the identification of eight new gaps in the following areas: electromagnetic compatibility issues related to EV charging; the functionality and measurement characteristics of EV sub-meters; coordination of EV sub-metering activities; cybersecurity and data privacy; telematics smart grid communications; electrical energy stranded in an inoperable rechargeable energy storage system; and workforce training related to charging station permitting and college and university programs. • an indication of the status of progress on all outstanding gaps. • significantly expanded text in a number of areas, in particular the infrastructure communications sections. • information on domestic and international coordination efforts since publication of the original roadmap.
JUNE 2013 19
the infras the infrastructure
Recargo and Xatori have announced that the two companies are merging, and will combine their portfolios of charging-related apps and EV media properties. Both companies have seen tremendous growth in 2013. The Recargo Station Finder and PlugShare charging locator apps will combine to form a directory of over 20,000 charging stations under the PlugShare brand, with more than 30,000 station reviews and 14,000 photos. The merger will also bring together Xatori’s charging manager GreenCharge and fleet manager ChargeManager, as well as EV research panel PlugInsights and news portal PluginCars.com. Brian Kariger will remain as CEO of the company, while Forrest North, CEO of Xatori, will become COO. Both companies’ staff will be staying on, and the company will retain its offices in Venice and Menlo Park, California. “We came together with the same goal in mind, to grow the EV market.” said Kariger. “This merger is the beginning of a powerful collaboration, doubling resources and fortifying our community.” “This merger gives us more opportunities to work with larger companies, utilities, automakers, and fleets,” said North. “Best of all, our users will benefit from our combined talents and unified product. The strength and passion of our combined communities will really help accelerate the plug-in revolution.” As part of the merger, the companies’ services, including charging station directories, will gradually integrate into one unified app with the combined location information, charging capabilities, driver reviews and photos of thousands of charging stations across the continent.
20
ECOtality has introduced the Blink HQ family of home EV chargers. The first of the new products, a 30-Amp home charger with delayed start options to optimize charging rates, will launch early this summer. It will be followed by a higher-end charger with connected capabilities and remote access. Blink still offers its classic wall-mount unit as part of the HQ family. “Our premiere line of Blink HQ home charging products offer EV drivers exactly what they’ve been asking for: connection to the Blink Network, freedom to charge at home at their convenience and unprecedented value,” said Ravi Brar, CEO of ECOtality. “We see a clear connection between charging at home, at work, while shopping or on the road during a trip,” continued Mr Brar. “Having Blink HQ home charging products in EV drivers’ homes, bundled with a membership, will help support our growth and generate an annuity base as the number of EV drivers grows.” To date, Blink has installed over 8,300 residential chargers in 38 states. The Blink HQ family of products starts at an MSRP of $699, and includes a one-year parts and labor warranty, as well as a $100 membership credit to be used at any of Blink Network’s over 4,000 public charging stations. Qualified drivers are eligible for a federal tax credit of up to $1,000 on the purchase and installation of a residential charging station through the end of 2013.
Photo courtesy of ECOtality
Recargo and PlugShare EVSE locator apps merge
ECOtality introduces new residential chargers
structure Bosch Automotive Service Solutions (formerly SPX Service Solutions) has introduced what it claims is the first EV charging station with a price under $450, about half that of most current EV chargers. The Bosch Power Max is UL-certified, and is designed to work with all electric vehicles. Features include no-touch operation, a NEMA 3R enclosure for both indoor and outdoor installations, a visible LED indicator that shows the charging state, and a hard-wired on/off switch to completely shut off power to the unit. It’s available in 16- and 30-Amp configurations, with cord length up to 25 feet. “We believe that for the foreseeable future most EV drivers will primarily charge at home,” said Bosch President Tanvir Arfi. “Because many of the incentives available to offset the costs of purchasing and installing residential Level 2 charging stations are expiring,
we believe it’s critical to maintain the momentum towards Level 2 by offering high quality, but lower cost charging solutions to our customers.” Bosch also offers professional installation services that include a 3-year limited product warranty, all permitting, inspection and ongoing support. The company helps customers find rebates offered by utility companies, governments or vehicle manufacturers, and can even help to file the paperwork. Bosch is now taking advance orders, and the Power Max will begin shipping in early June.
Photo courtesy of Bosch
Bosch introduces a Level 2 charger for under $450
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the tech
Wild
abo
The speedy scientists at Wildcat Discovery Technologies announce two new battery material breakthroughs
W
By Christian Ruoff
e first told you about Wildcat Discovery Technologies back in the October/November 2012 issue of Charged. It is a venture-backed start-up in Southern California that has developed proprietary methods for rapidly synthesizing energy-storage materials. The company boasts that one of its busy scientists can produce 400 to 500 different battery materials at the same time - that’s in the neighborhood of 100 times faster than standard labs. Wildcat shares its talents with many material companies and cell manufactures under various collaborative projects, most of which it won’t discuss. Some of the few partnerships that have been made public include a multiyear deal struck in September with the Japanese battery separator giant Asahi Kasei and a new research contract announced in January with the international powerhouse 3M. When Wildcat is not doing the synthesizing legwork for other companies, it funds internal projects to explore different battery materials that its chemists think they can improve. One of the first internally-funded products it produced was a high-voltage electrolyte additive called EM1, which can be put into conventional electrolyte formulations to give high-voltage performance to the overall cell. The company now reports that there are several major cell makers in late-stage testing to incorporate it into their products. The latest material science magic that the company has cooked up involves two new cathode materials, dubbed CM3 and CM4.
22
CM3, announced in March, is a novel, spinel-based oxide cathode with great capacity, low irreversible capacity, good rate performance, good cycle life and (its most important attribute) no voltage fade. CM4, which Charged got the exclusive first scoop on, is the first known rechargeable copper fluoride cathode - a high-energy, high-power, rechargeable conversion electrode.
CM3 is a novel, spinel-based oxide cathode with great capacity, low irreversible capacity, good rate performance, good cycle life and (its most important attribute) no voltage fade. CM3 - next generation One of the top contenders for the next-generation battery technology is a chemistry known as lithium-rich nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC), originally pioneered by Argonne National Labs. This new cathode material has demonstrated excellent energy density, good power capabilities, and a cycle life that is approaching the requirements of automotive applications.
out CATHODE
MATERIALS However, there is one big problem with Li-rich NMC: voltage fade. As the cells are cycled repeatedly, the voltage drops, independent of capacity loss. As seen in Figure 1, a cell with a nominal voltage of 3.2 V can experience a voltage fade as high as 400 mV over 1,500 cycles. That drop is a large fraction of the voltage change observed during normal charge and discharge of the cell, roughly
Figure 1
Significant voltage drop observed in Li-rich NMC from layered to spinel conversion
5.0
Fresh, 2nd cycle Initial cycles 300 cycles 1500 cycles
voltage, V
4.5
4.0
“
3.5
3.0
Voltage Profile Depression
2.5
2.0
0
50
100
equivalent to the voltage change between 100 percent state-ofcharge and 40 percent state-ofcharge. This presents a number of major challenges to automotive design engineers. One of the biggest is that existing battery management electronics don’t Steven Kaye account for changing voltage independent of capacity loss. So, all of those electronics systems that surround the batteries - which have seen considerable development investments - would need to be redesigned. No small task. Wildcat’s CM3 project grew out of an attempt to solve this voltage fade problem, and was funded in large part by a Department of Energy grant that was awarded to Wildcat in conjunction with Dow Kokam. It has led to a completely new class of cathode material. “Different variations of Li-rich NMC are being explored by a lot of people. And the problems with that material
150
200
250
capacity, mAh/g Based on internal data from Wildcat Discovery Technologies
300
The problems with that material were the inspirations for this research.
”
JUNE 2013 23
After solving a number of technical challenges through many iterations of Wildcat’s super-speedy synthesizing process, a new material class was born.
were the inspirations for this research. We didn’t have a way to just fix that material, so we set out to develop a material with similar performance as Li-rich NMC, but without the voltage fade problem,” Steven Kaye, Wildcat’s Chief Scientific Officer, told us. A number of other researchers had established that, over time, structural changes occur in Li-rich NMC that lead to voltage fade. So, Wildcat decided to start with a variation of the structurally stable material that exists after the voltage fade occurs. After solving a number of technical challenges through many iterations of Wildcat’s super-speedy synthesizing process (creating that material, modifying the structure for sufficient capacity, protecting it from water, etc.), a new material class was born. “We usually refer to it as a lithium-rich spinel,” said Kaye. Basically, it’s on par with Li-rich NMC in terms of performance, but is stable to structural conversion, so it doesn’t experience voltage fade. The CM3 material has significantly higher energy density than any cathode material currently on the market - north of 250 mAh/g, an increase of approximately 70 percent in gravimetric energy on a cathode basis. While the new compound solves the problems of Li-rich NMC, it is not ready to drop into cars. There is development work to be done. The next step is to ensure that the material can be produced using a scalable, lowcost method. “We know it exists - it can be made - so now the trick is turning that into something that is economical on the large scale,” said Jon Jacobs, VP of Business Development at Wildcat. The company is currently looking to partner with material suppliers and/or cell
manufacturers, because they’re particularly skilled at scaling up and finding creative ways of producing things using low-cost methods. How long until we could see CM3, or something equivalent, in new cars? “Unfortunately, that’s very Jon Jacobs hard to answer,” said Jacobs. “When you introduce a new cell chemistry to testing, from safety to crash and battery management, it all takes time. It’s in line with what it takes to get other ‘next generation’ materials into cars.” In general, an automotive design cycle is about five to seven years. CM4 - next after next generation If CM3 and Li-rich NMC are considered next generation materials, then Wildcat’s new CM4 could be a contender for two battery generations from now, possibly even three. But that doesn’t make the breakthrough any less significant. Typically, if you have a battery material that has very low power capacity, but other attractive characteristics, engineers will do what is known as a carbon coating. The process can significantly increase the conductivity of electrodes and protect them from direct contact with the electrolyte, extending cycle life. It is a great technology used with the popular Li-ion phosphate chemistries. But there are a lot of materials that are not stable to the carboncoating process, such as the carbon fluoride materials Wildcat was researching that became the origin of CM4. Carbon coating is done at high temperatures in an inert atmosphere and under those conditions copper fluoride is reduced, forming metallic copper. Other materials, such as carbon fluoride and many metal oxides, are similarly reduced. “We were doing work in primary batteries with carbon fluoride materials,” Kaye explained. “We looked at all sorts of different ways of applying high-power coatings to it. And we found a way of applying a high-conductivity
Basically, it’s on par with Li-rich NMC in terms of performance, but is stable to structural conversion, so it doesn’t experience voltage fade.
24
the tech
“
So, we started saying to ourselves, ‘OK, what else can we do with this? Is there anything else where the big problem is low power but is unstable to carbon coating?’
”
molecular coating at very low temperatures, very mild conditions. It really improved these carbon fluoride cathodes. So, we started saying to ourselves, ‘OK, what else can we do with this? Is there anything else where the big problem is low power but is unstable to carbon coating?’” Wildcat began to look at metal fluorides, a class of materials with extremely high energy density, but very low power density because of their insulative properties. Ultimately, it homed in on copper fluoride for a few different reasons - basically, it’s the highest energy metal fluoride that has a reasonable voltage (and is not silver, which is too expensive). So, the Wildcat scientists took copper fluoride, applied
Figure 2: Rate Capability Wildcat Discovery Technologies CuF2 vs other State-of-the-Art CuF2
100
Cap. Retention (%)
80
WDT CuF2
60
SoA CuF2
40 20 0
CuF2\\Li 1:2 EC:EMC, 30 oC 2.0-4.0 V
0.0
0.1
Rate (C)
1.0
Based on internal data from Wildcat Discovery Technologies
the new molecular technique (that’s like carbon coating, but different), and voila! The result is a high-power and high-capacity electrode. The theoretical capacity of copper fluoride is about 500 mAh/g - approximately twice that of Wildcat’s CM3 and Li-rich NMCs, and more than three times the capacity of today’s commercially available cathode materials. “State of the art copper fluoride doesn’t function at all at a 1-C rate. So, if you try to use it at a practical rate, you get nothing out of the chemistry. With our improved special coated copper fluoride, we get over 95 percent capacity at 1-C.” But that’s not the only technological achievement of CM4. In addition to low conductivity and poor power density, traditional copper fluoride also has problems with electrolyte decomposition and dissolution of copper at high voltages (copper oxidizes at approximately 3.5 V, but copper fluoride recharges at 3.55 V). By developing new compositions, coatings, and electrolytes, Wildcat mitigated these problems and managed to get copper fluoride to cycle. Recharging this chemistry is a feat that has not been reported in any other literature or patents, in which copper fluoride variations are always referred to as primary batteries - as in non-rechargeable, designed to be used once and then discarded. Presumably, since the cycling of copper fluoride has only begun to be explored, there is still a lot of creative engineering needed to get anywhere near the automotive requirements of 3,000-plus cycles. If CM4 can live up to its potential, we’ll likely see it used in mobile electronics applications first - where the useful benchmark is between 300 and 500 cycles. The company is not ready to fully disclose the cycling results of their CM4 project, but told Charged that it expects to have some impressive stats available in the fall of this year, when the search for CM4 development partners will begin. As with its other internally-funded discoveries, Wildcat hopes to team up with the industry’s commercial material makers so that it can stick to what it does best: synthesize, test, repeat (in a massively parallel way).
Recharging this chemistry is a feat that has not been reported in any other literature or patents
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JUNE 2013 25
the infrastructure
I
It’sON The underground manufacturing giant Lite-On gets ready to rearrange the charger market By Charlie Morris
f you’ve never heard of Lite-On, don’t feel bad - it’s a quiet giant. However, it’s quite likely that you’re using one of the company’s products right now. The Taiwan-based group is the world’s biggest manufacturer of LEDs and power supplies for consumer electronics. Most of the major computer and smartphone makers use its power supplies - the company builds 10 million of them every day in 38 factories around the world. Its LEDs are used in everything from traffic lights to automotive brake lights to entertainment systems. Lite-On was established in 1975, when it bought a Taiwanese LED factory from Hewlett-Packard, and it has grown into a goliath, with over $8 billion a year in sales. Its status as an invisible giant is due to two of the company’s philosophies: it doesn’t generally sell to end users, but rather to OEMs that put their own names on the final products; and it only goes into markets that it can dominate. If Lite-On doesn’t think it can be the #1 or #2 supplier in a particular product segment, it isn’t interested.
The company builds 10 million power supplies every day in 38 factories around the world.
26
The company is stealthily moving into the EVSE market, and it expects to be able to introduce cost savings that will let it reach its goal of total domination. Charged spoke with Scott Saffian, Lite-On’s Managing Director for Clean Energy Products in North America. Saffian knows the EVSE market as well as Scott Saffian anyone out there. He was the original Senior VP of Sales at Coulomb (now ChargePoint), and later a sales executive for GE’s EVSE division. Saffian told us that there’s one huge difference between Lite-On and other leaders in the EVSE market. Most of the others are predominantly US firms that manufacture in the US and sell their products to end users. According to Saffian, these companies have little interest in working with OEMs that want to add their own branding, whereas deals of that kind are Lite-On’s specialty. Lite-On is happy to let its customers put their own logo on their chargers, and in fact to choose every detail of the branding, look and feel and feature set. For example, a company may want to sell a low-cost charger with only the basics, and/or a more upscale model with more networking features. The fact that the customer doesn’t
Lite-On is a Taiwan-based manufacturer with its eye on clean energy products
Last year...it delivered over 4,000 residential units in Europe under multiple brands - around 20% of the total market. need to buy more than it needs, plus the fact that LiteOn’s chargers are manufactured offshore should add up to major cost savings. Many parts that go into EVSE are already used in some of the company’s other products, so it can also benefit from substantial economies of scale. Saffian doesn’t rule out the possibility that Lite-On may sell its own branded chargers some day, but for now the focus is on selling to OEMs. Potential customers include EVSE service providers, big-box retail stores that want to sell their own private-label chargers, auto OEMs, auto dealers, and eventually, large utilities. Lite-On is selling mostly 3 and 6 kW machines at the moment, but the charging level (and just about everything else) can be changed to suit customer requirements. The chargers come with a variety of networking features, and work with any network provider. They are compliant with Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP), but can also be configured to work with other protocols that a customer might select in the future.
Saffian told us that last year, Lite-On quietly became the #1 residential EVSE manufacturer for the European market (although he couldn’t reveal the identities of any current customers). It delivered over 4,000 residential units in Europe under multiple brands - around 20% of the total market. The company is just now entering the US market, but Saffian sees even more potential on this side of the pond - this is “where it’s all going to happen.” The company’s initial thrust is home charging, not public charging. It sees much more potential volume in the residential sphere (both single-family and multiple-unit) and, as always, it only wants to be in markets in which it can do huge volume. The residential market offers the possibility of selling one charger per vehicle, or maybe even two - one of Lite-On’s European customers offers a pair of chargers with each car, one for work and one for home.
The company is just now entering the US market, but Saffian sees even more potential on this side of the pond - this is “where it’s all going to happen.”
JUNE 2013 27
the tech
COULOMBIC EFFICIENCY
I
Peter Ulrix and Stef Leemans of PEC explain how the very delicate process of measuring a cell’s coulombic efficiency could significantly speed up development times By Markkus Rovito
n May, the California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) put out its results for America’s biggest survey of plug-in drivers yet. More than 2,000 California EV owners responded, and while 92 percent of them are satisfied overall with their EV purchase, almost all of them want a longer range. In fact, while the respondents drive only about 29 miles a day on average, only 10 percent of them are happy with a range of 100 miles or less, and 57 percent of them want a range of more than 150 miles. Since this was a survey only of drivers who already bought EVs, we can divine that ICE-driving customers would probably want even longer ranges before considering going electric. The CCSE survey merely proves what we’ve all known anecdotally: that drivers by and large want ranges that are double or even triple what most EVs currently offer. We also know that developing battery technologies will be able to provide those ranges eventually, but that could be a decade or more down the line using current projections. What we could really use are some technological breakthroughs that speed up the battery development process. Cycle testing has proved to be one of the great bottlenecks to battery development. However, a technology
28
that measures the coulombic efficiency of a battery cell - the ratio of the energy delivered by the battery during discharge to the energy stored during recharge - could speed up the testing times significantly - that is, if or when the process can be made commercially viable. Here to explain some of the positives and negatives of measuring coulombic efficiency are two men from PEC, an energy storage logistics, manufacturing, and testing specialist with offices around the world. Peter Ulrix, VP Sales and Marketing, and Stef Leemans, Product Manager, are working to integrate PEC’s standard battery cyclers with coulombic efficiency ratings. Charged: How can coulombic efficiency measurements shorten the development cycle for new batteries? Peter Ulrix: In the automotive industry, people want cells that can cycle many times - for electric vehicles, we’re looking at 5,000-10,000 cycles - to reflect eight or nine years as a warranty period. If you want to test all 10,000 cycles every time you make potential improvement to cells, it can take years before you say, “okay, now we have an improvement.” You have to go faster. One way to speed up testing is to look at the coulom-
It’s like an early detection system, so you can have a quick evaluation method of new chemistries, separator material, or whatever part of the cell you’re trying to improve.
bic efficiency of a cell. Basically, the coulombic efficiency is the equation between what you put into the cell in terms of energy, and what you get out of the cell. Typically, you have to put a little bit more energy in the cell than what you will get out after full discharge. This is because of the inefficiency of the cell, caused by internal resistance and aging. Measuring the coulombic efficiency of a cell shows you how efficient it is. If a cell’s coulombic efficiency has a value of 1, then it means that whatever you put in, you can send out, but this is not reality, of course. If you put a cell through a limited number of cycles, like 10 to 50, then coulombic efficiency starts stabilizing, and you will begin seeing a trend. If you extrapolate that, it can give you a significant idea of how the cell will behave in the longer term, before you start testing thousands of cycles. If you see something in those first cycles that is not showing a good coulombic efficiency, then you can immediately say, “let’s stop, because it will never be good enough in the long term.” It’s like an early detection system, so you can have a quick evaluation method for new chemistries, separator material, or whatever part of the cell you’re trying to improve. Charged: If a perfect cell has an efficiency of 1, what is the average range of real cells? Stef Leemans: With cells having different lifespans from a few hundred to a few thousand cycles, you see coulombic efficiencies ranging anywhere up to 99.99 percent. Different lithium cells all have their own characteristics: e.g. if you increase power, you might lose on the cell’s cycle life. If you focus on safety, you might decrease
performance or increase cost. Trade-offs have to be made. Charged: What kind of hardware do you need for measuring coulombic efficiency?
SL: There are four main factors that need to be controlled and measured extremely accurately. You need accurate current control with high-resolution readings - that’s one. You need an accurate cut-off voltage - that’s two. You need very fast sampling - that’s three. And the capacity depends on the temperature of the cell, so you need extremely high temperature stability. PU: We use a combination of our standard multi-channel cyclers and auxiliary I/Os. They have really good time resolution and temperature stability - we do millisecond sampling and millisecond capacity calculations. Most other commercially available systems are far away from that, except for some custom-built single-channel systems. We also use cell-specific, customized holders that have built-in cooling, with very accurate temperature regulation. Then you just start cycling, charging and discharging based on a C/10 constant current. We’re able to achieve an accuracy on the coulomb efficiency measurement down to 10 ppm - 10 parts per million.
There are four main factors that need to be controlled and measured extremely accurately.
JUNE 2013 29
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the tech Charged: So is this technique commonly used today?
control the cell temperature in high-current applications, then I think that coulombic efficiency could definitely be a game-changer in terms of cell development.
PU: It’s not used on a big scale because of its technical challenges. It only makes sense to perform these tests when you can achieve an accurate measurement of coulombic efficiency. If it becomes imprecise, then it cannot give you any meaningful prediction of the impact on cycle life.
Charged: Why is it difficult to offer a commercial solution?
SL: If you don’t measure accurately enough, and then extrapolate to thousands of cycles, you get a huge spread on the potential end result. PU: The big challenge is controlling the environment. The climatic conditions have to be very stable. When we started doing experiments with our equipment, we even noticed differences between the daytime and nighttime the air conditioning system of the building was not stable enough to compensate for the temperature differences. If we talk about development of large-format cells that are used in hybrid cars and EVs, C/10 is not what you’re typically running on those cells. So if we can accurately
PU: It should be sold as a turn-key solution. Besides the equipment, you need infrastructure - for cooling the cell, and cooling the whole circuitry - which is cell-dependent. There are standard cell formats like 18650, but if we talk about large-format cells, they’re always different. For each of these form factors, you have to build a cell holder with built-in temperature control. This requires customization and testing for each system being installed. Charged: As these cooling techniques become more commercially available, could it speed up the development process for new materials industry-wide? SL: Absolutely.
hydrogen
helium
H
He
1
2
Frustrated with the pace of battery development? 1.0079
4.0026
lithium
beryllium
boron
carbon
nitrogen
oxygen
Li
Be 9.0122
B
10.811
C
N
O
sodium
magnesium
3
6.941
11
4
5
24.305
calcium
19
K
39.098
rubidium
37
20
Ca Sc
Ti
vanadium
23
V
47.867
50.942
strontium
yttrium
zirconium
niobium
38
85.468
87.62
barium
39
Y
88.906
56
132.91
137.33
francium
radium
40
41
silicon
phosphorus
sulfur
chlorine
argon
Al
Si
P
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Cl
Ar
bromine
krypton
Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br
Kr
chromium
24
manganese
iron
25
26
27
nickel
28
copper
29
zinc
30
28.086
30.974
32.065
arsenic
selenium
58.933
58.693
63.546
65.38
69.723
molybdenum
technetium
ruthenium
rhodium
palladium
silver
cadmium
indium
44
45
46
47
48
49
92.906
95.96
[98]
101.07
102.91
106.42
107.87
112.41
114.82
tantalum
tungsten
rhenium
osmium
iridium
platinum
gold
mercury
thallium
74
75
76
77
Ir
178.49
180.95
183.84
186.21
190.23
192.22
rutherfordium
dubnium
seaborgium
bohrium
hassium
meitnerium
105
106
107
108
109
78
79
80
16
germanium
31
55.845
43
15
26.982
54.938
42
14
gallium
91.224
104
Fr Ra
cobalt
51.996
Hf Ta W Re Os
88
81
32
33
34
17
35.453
35
[261]
lanthanum
57
cerium
58
[262]
[266]
praseodymium neodymium
59
60
195.08
196.97
110
78.96
79.904
tin
antimony
tellurium
iodine
xenon
I
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50
51
52
Sn Sb Te
53
118.71
121.76
127.60
126.90
lead
bismuth
polonium
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82
83
84
85
200.59
204.38
207.2
208.98
[209]
[210]
[271]
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promethium
samarium
europium
gadolinium
terbium
64
65
dysprosium
holmium
erbium
thulium
ytterbium
lutetium
66
67
68
69
70
71
La Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu 138.91
140.12
140.91
144.24
[145]
150.36
151.96
157.25
158.93
162.50
164.93
167.26
168.93
173.05
174.97
actinium
thorium
protactinium
uranium
neptunium
plutonium
americium
curium
berkelium
californium
einsteinium
fermium
mendelevium
nobelium
lawrencium
89
90
91
Ac Th Pa [227]
232.04
231.04
92
U
238.03
93
94
95
96
97
98
Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf [237]
858.550.1980 | San Diego, CA USA www.wildcatdiscovery.com
[244]
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36
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111
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63
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darmstadtium roentgenium
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62
18
Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn
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61
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73
neon
Ne
18.998
Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In 72
Cs Ba [223]
22
44.956
caesium
87
titanium
40.078
Rb Sr 55
21
9
F
15.999
13
scandium
8
14.007
12
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Na Mg
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6
[247]
[247]
[251]
99
100
101
102
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103
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[257]
[258]
[259]
[262]
Wildcat uses proprietary high throughput technology to accelerate battery R&D. This massively parallel technique enables our scientists to investigate hundreds of materials in the time standard laboratories look at a handful. Wildcat’s customers reduce R&D costs and get products to market faster; new cathodes, anodes, electrolytes, synthetic methods and formulations are all possible. Wildcat is ready to help get your new cell technology to market…F-A-S-T!
the tech
IN-WHEEL
HOUSE By Markkus Rovito
Protean Electric leads the way for a new wave of wheel-hub motors. Its Protean Drive system lets automakers add their electric drive methods of choice to existing platforms.
Images courtesy of ProteanÂ
E
w
hen Protean Electric begins production of its Protean Drive in-wheel electric drive system later this year, it could mark the stirring comeback of the wheel hub motor, a concept that’s been more than a century in the making. Electric wheel-hub motors date all the way back to 1884, and none other than Ferdinand Porsche used them in his 1898 System LohnerPorsche prototype EV, which evolved into the first documented petroleum/electric hybrid, the Mixte, in 1901. With each hub motor weighing about 320 pounds, carmakers balked at the idea of that much unsprung weight, thinking that it would hurt the ride and handling on rough roads, and increasingly powerful gasoline engines soon took over from wheel-hub motors. Protean announced its production in-wheel electric drive system in April, and with 1,000 Newton meters (Nm) of peak torque from each motor, Protean claims it can easily power a D-size EV with just two of the 68-pound motors. Whatever questions may remain about problems due to such a small amount of unsprung mass, Protean has answers for them. Now the small private company has to get through testing of its product, and then its first foray into low-volume production.
The Lohner-Porsche Mixte Hybrid
Gearing up Although Protean Electric itself came to be only in 2009, the 80-employee company sprang from the ashes of PML Flightlink, a company that began as Printed Motors Limited, making printed armature motors, in 1963. By 2003, PML had focused on developing in-wheel motors, which it was trying out in a solar challenge racing vehicle by the following year. In 2005, the company integrated power electronics into the in-wheel motor and christened
the technology the Hi-Pa Stator Wheel Bearing Drive. In 2006, the HiRotor Pa drive debuted at the London Motor Show, and in 2007, Silicon Valley VC firm Oak Investment Partners made its first investment in PML Flightlink. Oak Partners has been a constant investor in Protean, and in 2009, Oak bought PML Flightlink outright, spinning off its efforts into two separate Vehicle businesses. The in-wheel Suspension motor side became Protean Electric, and the HiCoils & Power Pa Drive was renamed the Electronics/Micro Inverters Protean Drive. Last July, Protean added several Chinese investors - GSR Ventures, Jiangsu New Times Conventional Alloy Wheels Holding Group, and the city of Liyang - who, along with continued support from Oak, chipped in a total of $84 million in Series C funding for Protean. Not coincidentally, Protean also announced the establishment of its first torque, and weighs 31 kg (68 volume manufacturing facility in Liyang, China. lbs). On a conventional 18Now with money in the bank, 27 patents (and 84 inch wheel with a typical tire applications pending), a low-volume manufacturing arsize, top speed is roughly 120 rangement, and a production design in testing, Protean mph. The motors are designed is just about ready to unleash the decade-in-the-making to fit behind any conventional Protean Drive. Where would they like to see it? Any18-24-inch road wheel, so they where and everywhere. are suitable for C-, D-, and E-sized cars, crossovers, vans, De-greasing the wheels pickup trucks, and even Class Ken Stewart Each Protean Drive in-wheel motor can deliver 75 kW 2 trucks. They can be used in VP Business Dev. (100 hp) peak power and 1,000 Nm (735 lb/ft) peak hybrids, PHEVs, or EVs, in rear-wheel, front-wheel or allwheel drive applications - all using existing platforms. “If you look at today’s light-duty market and ask ‘what part of the industry is addressable with a 18-inch motor?’ our calculations say it’s about 53 percent,” said Ken Stewart, Protean’s VP of Business Development and a 30-plusyear veteran of vehicle manufacturing. The initial 18-inch Protean Drive is undergoing final testing validation at Protean’s Farnham, England engineering center, and the company is building a production tool set in Munich,
“
If you look at today’s light-duty market and ask ‘what part of the industry is addressable with a 18-inch motor?’ our calculations say it’s about 53 percent.
34
”
Images courtesy of Protean
the tech
“
The rotor’s on the outside, and the stator is really on the back side. There’s a back plate that we affix the electronics to. Also, the back plate stator doubles as a liquid coolant jacket that keeps the back side electronics cool.
”
Germany. By early 2014, Protean expects to begin lowvolume production at its Chinese plant. Roughly two years after that, Stewart expects to start phased production of a smaller Protean Drive with a lower power rating that will address the remainder of the light-duty market, “all the way from the upper end of city cars to the first half of the C-segment cars,” he said. It comes as no surprise that Protean execs can run down an extensive list of benefits they think will attract OEMs and tier-one suppliers to the Protean Drive. They say its superior regenerative braking allows up to 85 percent of available kinetic energy to be recovered; it can increase fuel economy by more than 30 percent depending on the battery size and driving cycle; and it can be used to retrofit existing fleets or to deliver hybrid or electric technology faster and with fewer new parts, less complexity, lower total cost, and fewer changes and disruptions to the assembly plant than other leading electric drive systems. The Protean Drives can be the only source of traction on a variety of vehicles. It can also improve vehicle packaging because it occupies the air space behind an 18-inch wheel, packing a lot of torque into a small space that formerly was not occupied by anything. “The rotor’s on the outside, and the stator is really on the back side,” Stewart said. “There’s a back plate that we affix the electronics to. Also, the back plate stator doubles as a liquid coolant jacket that keeps the back side electronics cool. There’s no oil or water being put into the motor itself. Also, 1,000 Nm is a boat-load of torque density - in part it’s because of the circumference
of our magnetic field due to the rotor design being on the outside.” Bob Purcell, who is often called “the father of the EV1,” became chairman and CEO of Protean Electric in October, 2010. At the 2013 SAE World Congress in Detroit this April, Purcell addressed an audience to announce the finished production design of the Protean Drive. “It’s a purpose-built motor, specifically designed to deliver power and torque to the wheel; that’s where you need it,” he said. “No drive shafts; no gear sets; no transmissions; no differentials. You direct-drive the wheel with the motor. Since the motor fits behind the conventional road wheel and bolts onto an existing automotive hub and bearing system, there’s no tear-up of the engine compartment, transmission, drive line, or even exhaust. Bob Purcell This is probably the closest the CEO industry will ever get to true bolt-on electric drive.” The wheels on the Brabus To prove Protean Drive’s worth, the company has put together a collection of eight demonstration vehicles, spread across four continents, to show prospective clients and partners. These include Volvo C30 and Ford F-150 all-wheel drive battery EVs, and a Vauxhall Vivaro PHEV van that shows two rear Protean Drive motors powering an urban fleet-size vehicle. The flagship demos are three Mercedes-Benz E-Class cars that specialty carmaker Brabus retrofitted into a hybrid and two EVs using Protean Drives for the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. Stewart reported that Brabus basically bolted on the Protean Drives. “These were basically Brabus suspension, Brabus wheels and tires,” he said. “We did not do any formal ride and handling work. We didn’t swap out any parts for the sake of improving ride and handling with the in-wheel motors. Yet those vehicles drove very well.” The old concerns about unsprung mass that dogged the earliest models of in-wheel motors still apply today, but Protean feels confident that those fears are easily allayed. “Unsprung mass can be addressed through engineering,” Stewart told us. “It’s not like you add just one kilogram of unsprung mass and there’s this big step function
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JUNE 2013 35
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Unsprung mass can be addressed through engineering. It’s not like you add just one kilogram of unsprung mass and there’s this big step function reaction in the car. There’s no threshold between good and bad. Obviously lighter unsprung mass is better, however, it’s not like a ‘go/no-go’ situation.
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Images courtesy of Protean
the tech
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...there are bigger vehicles that need to be built because people want them, there’s profitability there, and people who have a job to do with a lightduty vehicle need to get their work done
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reaction in the car. There’s no threshold between good and bad. Obviously lighter unsprung mass is better, however, it’s not like a ‘go/no-go’ situation.” A recent white paper by Martyn Anderson of Lotus Engineering and Damian Harty of Dunamos Ltd. titled “Unsprung Mass with In-Wheel Motors - Myths and Realities” is available as a PDF at ProteanElectric.com. In the summary, the authors wrote, “the modern development
toolbox is easily capable of restoring dynamic performance, and the opportunities afforded by in-wheel motors in terms of packaging and vehicle dynamics control are of substantial interest to the vehicle dynamics community.” Stewart expanded on that, saying “If you add that mass you will change the vehicle dynamics. However, you can get back the ride and the handling and control of the car that you desire by conventional techniques like trading out shock valving, springs, bushings, etc. They also said that if you start to look at the advantages of torque vectoring, then it provides a clear advantage.” Wheels of fortune? At the 2013 SAE World Congress, Purcell wasn’t addressing the general public, but rather, he was specifically addressing the world auto industry. His message in a nutshell was: You’re going to need us. “We now have one billion vehicles in operation in markets throughout the world,” Purcell said. “It took 130 years to get to that point. What’s amazing to me is that current forecasts are saying that we will put the next billion vehicles on planet Earth in the next 15 to 20 years. Governments around the world are responding to that. There are regulations regarding fuel economy and emissions in all the major markets in the world. If you look simply at fuel economy, there are fleet-directed fuel economy standards directed at all the major markets, whether you talk CAFE, CAFC or the EU CO2.” The point is that many OEMs will need to reduce ve-
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the tech
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We see the potential of this being the true low-cost solution over time. The motor fundamentally renders itself well to automation and low-cost manufacturing techniques.
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hicle emissions for compliance, and fast. Protean thinks its “bolt-on” electric drive solution represents one - if not the best - option for converting existing ICE platforms to hybrid, PHEV, or EV with minimal time and expense. Stewart expanded on Purcell’s point. “With population growth, economic development, and cities’ populations getting more dense, you’ve got to have another solution besides internal combustion engines,” he said. “The math just doesn’t work any other way.” He continued by picking out the low-hanging fruit for Protean Drives as luxury cars, vans, crossovers and light-duty commercial applications. “This is a really good solution, especially for the upper half of the light-duty market, where there are bigger vehicles that need to be built because people want them, there’s profitability there, and people who have a job to do with a light-duty vehicle need to get their work done,” Stewart said. While Protean will begin low-volume production at its wholly owned facility in China early next year, the plan is to license its technology to both OEM customers and tier one partners for high-volume production. “I don’t have the first large-volume commercial agreement yet, but I’m anticipating that soon,” Stewart said. “We’re feeling good about our prospects. I could take about any light-duty car or truck in any parking lot and create a hybrid out of it in a few weeks time. The automakers like that.” Of course, automakers also like low costs. It will take a little while to get there, but Protean has a target price of about $1,500 per motor at high production volume. “If you look at that from kilowatts or Newton-meters per dollar, the figure is very competitive,” Stewart said. “We see the potential of this being the true low-cost solution over time. The motor fundamentally renders itself well to automation and low-cost manufacturing techniques. For example, our copper winding is all done by a winding system. We don’t have to thread wires through holes. We also have integrated electronic controls and power
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electronics in the motor, which can simplify cabling and so many other systems that are required for a standalone, separate box somewhere onboard the car.” Regardless of the cost of the Protean Drive, the company aims to save resources in other ways, such as reducing non-recurring engineering costs. “If you start eliminating drive shafts, differentials, and other drive-line components, you can provide a low-cost EV solution,” Stewart said. “In hybrids, you don’t have to retool the sheet metal, transmission aluminum diecastings; all those major tools, dies, and parts are expensive, and the engineering to change their shapes is pretty expensive. So we avoid a lot of that spending.” Whether an OEM looks at making PHEV/EV models or converting an existing ICE platform to a hybrid, Stewart likes the advantages that Protean can offer. For
...he was specifically addressing the world auto industry. His message in a nutshell was: You’re going to need us.
example, going from ICE to hybrid, the entire power train system could be used again. “The entire closed loop fuel mapping, emission controls, EVAP, catalytic convertors and all that stuff could be maintained, and all you’d really have to do is reduce the burden on the engine itself,” he said. “EVs and hybrids do need a battery solution, but I can give them a leg up, because they don’t need to package an inboard motor and all the motor controls, which allows them either to minimize their costs and disruption, or they can use that unused space for more battery capacity.” The road ahead The first Protean Drive systems to be seen on the open road are likely to be in converted fleets rather than production cars, and Stewart hopes those fleets see action
in a matter of months. However, while the validation of the production design and vehicle testing is still underway, Protean doesn’t want to rush anything. The company wants to take special care to ensure the life cycle of Protean Drive, which will be targeted at 240,000 km/10 years, or roughly the life of the vehicle. Safety, shock, and vibration are also all high priorities, Stewart said. “It’s something that we’re paying a tremendous amount of attention to,” he said. “As you’d expect, if you put an in-wheel motor out on the unsprung mass area of the car, you’ve got to step up to the bar and deal with issues that come from that: shock, vibration, water sealing, and the robustness of the electronics.” Protean submerged one of its motors at the SAE show to demonstrate its intention to meet all automotive environmental requirements, such as IP6K9K, a water protec-
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JUNE 2013 39
WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE ELECTRIC HIGHWAY?
Plug-in electric vehicles are at a crossroads.
September 30 – October 3, 2013 San Diego Convention Center San Diego, California USA
Sales are accelerating, but questions remain about technology costs, market evolution, consumer education and infrastructure development. At Plug-In 2013, we will discuss, debate and, ultimately, answer these questions. • Join us for real-world reporting as we analyze how best to move forward using the data collected over the last three years. • Secure your spot on our diverse exposition floor to connect with and develop long-term relationships with decision-makers who drive the vehicle and infrastructure markets. It’s all here at Plug-In 2013 – the international gathering of automakers, utilities, EVSE and other component manufacturers, policymakers and key stakeholders – so mark your calendars now!
Bookmark www.plugin2013.com for continuing details.
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the tech tion rating that includes a need to operate submerged in water and exposed to high-pressure water. Protean Drive will also comply with ISO 26262, a new safety standard for road vehicles. “It’s a relatively new standard where a traction motor on an automobile has to address not only certain standards about functional safety, but also the process you use to engineer the product must be sound,” Stewart said. Now that the Protean Drive - which Car & Driver named one of the 10 Most Promising Technologies for 2013 - is in the home stretch of its 10-year journey to market, there’s still some question as to whether it will be the first modern in-wheel motor to see real-world use. Michelin’s Active Wheel, a 92 lb wheel with an electric motor and suspension inside, debuted in 2008, linked to the Venturi Volage concept car, and showed up in the 2009 Peugot BB1 electric concept microcar. Michelin still showcases the wheel on rare occasions, but new information on the project is sparse. A more active competitor is German conglomerate Schaeffler, which announced the beta version of its EWheel Drive electric wheel hub drive in April. It weighs
53 kg and delivers 700 Nm of torque. Schaeffler has partnered with Ford, and is demonstrating the E-Wheel Drive in a development Ford Fiesta. However, it does seem that the E-Wheel Drive is further away from production than the Protean Drive. Stewart told us that the OEMs he speaks to say that Protean is the closest in-wheel electric motor to production, but that’s as far as he goes. “Nobody’s got the patents, IP, and the design that we have or the commercial path that we have,” he said. “But I don’t want to be too boastful. I’ve been in the automotive business for over 30 years; it tends to make you humble.” That deep car-industry experience is something that CEO Purcell - another 30-year-plus industry vet - also emphasized to potential customers. “This is not a group of wild-eyed inventors in a garage,” Purcell said. “We know what it takes to make a component set, to make a system work in the auto industry - fully certified to all prevailing global automotive standards. As China and India come online, it’s going to absolutely drive the world to new solutions for automotive transportation. Protean Electric offers a smooth transition to this new era of the automobile.”
the tech
EVs
:The Holy Grail of Multiphysics
Sandeep Sovani on the evolution of computer-based engineering simulations
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efore actually creating any physical prototypes, engineers build a three-dimensional virtual model of a component, and can use computer simulations to test how the design will perform in the real world. Computerbased engineering simulation early in the development process allows them to refine and validate designs at a stage where the cost of making changes is minimal. Simulations are highly efficient virtual tools, and ANSYS is a clear leader in the space. As Fortune pointed out, ANSYS products are used around the world by 96 of the top 100 industrial companies on the Fortune Global 500 list. Sandeep Sovani is the Director of Global Automotive Strategy for ANSYS, and he sees simulating EV systems as a culmination of its products’ core capabilities. “The electrified powertrain is in a sense Sandeep Sovani the Holy Grail of multiphysics,” he told Charged. “It is where all the multiphysics exist and interact in a very complicated, tightly-coupled way with each other.” Take the motor, for example. It’s driven by an electric current that generates an electric field, which ultimately generates a magnetic field. Those fields also create heat, so there is also a thermal field. Fluid flow is needed to carry away that heat, either via a liquid or air, so a flow field is established. Also, the magnetics are producing torque, which can deform the cavities that are available
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By Michael Kent
for the flow to pass through, thus affecting cooling and the thermal field. “Here you see all the different physics in action: electric, magnetic, thermal, mechanical and fluids,” said Sovani. “They are all very tightly coupled to each other. The temperature of the motor is actually going to affect the magnetic field. But the magnetic field, in turn, determines what the temperature is. And the fluid field, which is the air flow or the liquid flow, determines what the temperature is going to be. Fluid is affecting the temperature, which is affecting the magnetics, which is affecting the temperature back, and the magnetics are affecting the structural deformation of the motor cavities, which is going to determine the fluid part. So it’s all a jumble.” Simulating the magnetic, thermal, fluid and structural aspects of motors involves very deep multiphysics with a lot of specificities. Over the past four decades, computer-based engineering simulation technology has evolved to give designers a unified platform that connects all the physics together. The motor, for example, can be simulated like a
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It is where all the multiphysics exist and interact in a very complicated, tightlycoupled way with each other.
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Fluid Flow & Thermal Simulation
Temperature Energy Source Magnetics Simulation
Courtesy ANSYS, Inc.
Multiphysics simulation - essential for motor design
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Now companies are studying hundreds of thousands of possible design variations for a motor before choosing the final design that they actually want to produce.
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real motor, rather than a simplified abstract version. “Companies are studying hundreds of thousands of possible design variations for a motor before choosing the final design that they actually want to produce,” said Sovani. “They can do that now because of simulation technology and the massive computing power that is readily available to companies today.” This capability allows an incredible amount of optimization. Engineers can find the best possible efficiency for a traction motor, while making it robust for various operating conditions. Sovani says that simulation is now part of the DNA of automotive engineering. “It can’t be taken out. It’s very
Aluminum Liquid Cooling Pipe (Copper)
Magnets
Magnetic Steel
Courtesy ANSYS, Inc.
Permanent magnet motor section
heavily relied upon. The benefits have been seen and found to be very significant. Now the question is: How do we make wide enterprise use of simulation?” The evolution of simulation How did simulation become so deeply embedded in automotive design in recent years? There are two perspectives that combined to make simulation technology an engineering cornerstone: the market’s need and the software’s capabilities. From the market perspective, the amount of electronics or electrical systems in vehicles has grown significantly. Five years ago there were hardly any EVs being pro-
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And now, in this decade, it’s all about: How do I make massive use of simulation, or enterprise-wide use of simulation?
Uneven heating and mechanical stresses in a power electronics module caused by varying electric current density.
know it works for my application, but how do we use it in production? “The last decade in the auto industry was spent creating processes and practices for systematic use of simulations in the product development process.” And now, in this decade, it’s all about: How do I make massive use of simulation, or enterprise-wide use of simulation? Coming trends in simulation technology include things like high-performance computing - using very large computers to significantly cut down the amount of time required to do a simulation or extensive design exploration, like studying thousands of motor variations.
Courtesy ANSYS, Inc.
duced, and the amount of electronics content in a vehicle was much smaller than it is today. Over these years the need for multiphysics simulations has increased steadily, because new vehicles are now seeing increased electrical currents, magnetic fields and electromagnetic radiation, along with the accompanying thermal, structural and fluid flow considerations. Vehicles are much more tightly packed with electronics and different electrical attributes, and there is no end in sight, either from an electric powertrain or a consumer electronics perspective. In turn, multiphysics simulations have become more important. From the software-capability perspective, ANSYS’s recent product development serves as a good example of the shift in technology focus. About 10 years ago, Sovani explains that ANSYS realized there was a need for multiphysics coming. “We started out as a structural company, but we did strategic acquisitions to add different physics into our portfolio. And while we were doing those acquisitions, we did strategic development investment in a platform that brings all these physics together in a seamless way. So you can take one motor model and do structural analysis, computational fluid dynamic analysis, electromagnetic analysis - all on the same model.” The company’s vision is clearly seen now, and ANSYS’s “strategic investments” seem to be money well spent. As the development of electric drives increases, the need for multiphysics platforms will only grow. To predict what’s next for simulations, Sovani suggests we look at how it has evolved, starting in the beginning of the 1970s. “I like to classify the four decades of simulation using four questions that companies were asking, like auto companies that encountered simulation and wanted to use it.” The first was: What is simulation? “People were trying to deal with all these numbers coming out of those fledgling computers that were around in those days,” said Sovani. In the second decade, the 1980s, the question was: Does it really work? “We now understand what simulation is, but does it really give answers that compare with experiments?” Then, in the 1990s, they were asking: Does it work in my application? “We now know that simulation works in generic problems, such as simple square beams and shells, but does it work for my real-life problem like a traction motor or aerodynamics? And again, all of the answers were yes,” said Sovani. And in the last decade, the 2000s, the question was: We
Courtesy ANSYS, Inc.
the tech
Cells release heat during operation resulting in temperature variation in the module. Excessive variation reduces battery life and capacity.
Scaling the details Another key trend that is developing in the simulationengineering world is system simulation. A battery, for example, is a very multi-scale object. Each level of scale has its own specific problems and design considerations, from the electrochemical reactions happening between electrodes at the sub-millimeter level, to the cell level, module level, and pack level, which can be more than a meter in length. So, apart from the complicated interaction of multiphysics, there is a problem with doing multi-scale simulations in batteries. “If you think about doing a high-fidelity simulation for an electrode pair, on the one millimeter dimension, you can’t do that simulation for every pair in the entire battery pack,” explained Sovani. “That would be a huge computation, it would require thousands of computers to run on. But we do require that deep simulation to characterize the behavior of the electrode and the electrochemistry. So, what is needed in a system simulation is the ability to do high-fidelity simulations for specific pockets. And then to abstract the results of those simulations and create what we call a reduced-order model. It is a simpler model that will run faster on the computer, but it will mimic the high-fidelity model. Then put that reduced-
A battery, for example, is a very multi-scale object. Each level of scale has its own specific problems and design considerations
Courtesy ANSYS, Inc.
Embedded models
Liquid coolant, in this case, is circulated in channels around individual battery cells to minimize temperature variation.
ANSYS is also working toward using reduced-order models in control systems on-board the vehicle, not just in the design process. Based on this strategy, it recently acquired Esterel Technologies, which specializes in embedded software. The company’s new vision is to encompass both hardware and software systems by doing all the detailed simulations, abstracting the simpler models and then putting those models - with very high fidelity - into control systems like a battery controller.
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JUNE 2013 45
the tech
V
Engineering Notes CONCEPT
Requirements & Specifications
Requirements Analysis Verifications Design
System Validation
System Functional & Architectural Design
Sub-System Design
Sub-System Integration & Verification
Component Integration & Verification
Requirements Analysis
Verifications Design
Detailed Component Design & Optimizations
Production
Physical Prototype
Detailed Design
Model-based system engineering
Model-based system engineering is a new design technique that is now just beginning to be implemented in the automotive development culture. It starts by constructing a virtual model - not a geometric model but a model of the system - taking in the requirements and laying out a rough architecture. It uses a functional design of various parts of the system with, essentially, block diagrams. Each block has certain inputs and functions that it has to do. One could be a motor, one could be a battery, one could be power electronics, etc. For each of those functional attributes there is a more detailed design. You take the battery box and expand it further into functional designs of different modules, different controllers, etc. Then, the rough architecture goes into creating different physical models, like 3D CAD models of the different systems and FEA models for testing those systems. In a sense, it is a hierarchy of models that are increasingly more complex and detailed. The V-model, or system-V, is a terminology used in this model-based product development approach. On the top left side of the V, the process begins with the rough concepts and requirements. As you go down the left side you make a more detailed design of the product. A functional architecture of the main system, then functional architecture of the sub-components and systems, and at the bottom of the V are the detailed CAD, FEA, and CFD models and multiphysics analysis. So essentially it goes from requirements to the detailed design at the bottom. On the right side of the V is the opposite, where we go from the detailed models to subsequent higher levels of implementation and testing. Starting with testing of components and subsystems, and ultimately testing of the whole system as one. At all levels there is a comparison of the right side to the left side, verifying that the whole system and its performance matches the original requirements that were set on the left side of the V. So, model-based system engineering is a way of doing computer models that can take a complete product down from the left side of the V and up the right side.
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order model in a detailed model of the next higher level object in the system.” In other words, create a reduced-order model for an electrode and put that in a cell. Then do a cell simulation, create a reduced-order model of that cell and then put that in a module level simulation. Then again for the module and put it in a pack simulation. “That way we can maintain good accuracy throughout the system, and accurately simulate the pack as a whole system with all its electronic controls, as well as the behavior of the physical objects inside of the system.” Ultimately, there is a lot of opportunity to improve fuel economy and the range of an EV just by optimizing the battery, traction motor and power electronics in conjunction with the whole vehicle system. Currently, automotive engineering is very components-based. The problem is that 20 optimized components don’t create an optimized system when put together. The system has to be independently optimized, and the components have to be optimized with respect to the system. “It’s about changing culture. I would say the biggest
challenge in simulations is not really about technology, it’s about culture of automotive product development. Today, the battery and the motor are developed separately. There is not as much effort as could be done to develop them as a system. Because things are done this way, there is a loss in efficiency which is so critical for EVs.” ANSYS’s success has come from keeping a constant eye on what’s next, and taking the right steps as a company to lead the trends. Ten years ago, it started to invest in multiphysics platforms and now those simulations are a required, invaluable engineering step. As an automotive strategist, a big part of Sovani’s job description is looking forward. “I envision a world 10 years from now where model-based system engineering is very prevalent. When we start creating a car at that time, we create a functional architecture of the car, and it’s all managed through one coherent piece of software. All the way from that point, to the point where the vehicle’s components are designed in detail and then integrated. I see the world in the next decade as a high-level system optimization world.”
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Reluctan
A
The cute, cuddly FIAT 500e EV may have been born only out of regulatory necessity. So what happens if it becomes the best-reviewed new EV in its class? The bar is raised; the game changes. Maybe Chrysler will even concede that it should sell it outside of the Golden State.
Image courtesy of Chrysler Group LLC
ntGEM S
By Markkus Rovito
ummertime in Sonoma County brings to mind high temperatures, the high season for high-end wine tastings, gorgeous, rolling, vineyard-covered hills, and back roads - twisty, twisty back roads. It was to that environment that Brett Giem, FIAT 500e Chief Engineer, brought his team in the summer of 2012 to test out his pack of “mules.” “These are essentially cars that are hand-built right here at Chrysler’s tech center,” Giem said. “They had early configurations of the hardware from all the suppliers. Our task was to adapt those parts to behave like production parts and just to make sure everything was working. As those mules came right off of build, they were rough, and then we went through about two or three iterations of calibration refinement.”
The FIAT 500e, the EV version of the gas-powered 500, aka Cinquecento, was to be the first production EV from the Chrysler Group, which announced some plug-in concepts that never really got off the ground in 2009. However, that was before FIAT helped Chrysler out of a bankruptcy and started working toward a full merger that is still in progress. As the FIAT-Chrysler relationship developed, Giem told us that it became obvious that the Cinquecento, a popular little city motorer, would be the first car from the group to electrify. And so it was that Giem and crew ventured from the Auburn Hills, Michigan home office of Chrysler to Sonoma County, in order to challenge the 500e on some of the typical roads of California, where the car would be initially sold exclusively as a compliance car. As they were iterating what Giem called the “rough” early mules through different setups with the suspension tuning staff, Darius Kudzma, Performance Engineer, Vehicle Dynamics, had a breakthrough. “I think I’ve got it now,” he told the team. “Let’s drive.” Rounding the bases During what Giem called that “summer of revelations,” at least three things happened almost all at once to get the 500e to the next level. The first was Kudzma’s discovery, which helped the ride and handling group figure out how to properly couple the mass of the battery as the
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car performed handling maneuvers. “We got out of our hotels, jumped in the cars, and it was magic,” Giem said. “The car went from a little bit bobbly, soft, and mushy in the back into a really tight, well-behaved driving experience. We got on first base with that.” Next, the group learned where the greatest vehicle efficiencies would be. “That was like second base,” Giem said. “Low rolling resistance tires, making sure our aerodynamics were working, how other electrical systems were loading and using our high-voltage battery - they were coming in on target. We knew where we needed to be, and our mules were actually behaving at the same efficiency that our production cars are today.” “The home run was the efficiency of the powertrain system,” Giem said. The team found a calibration that really felt good - as the accelerator pedal was depressed, the current given to the drive system was just enough and no more - to make it behave familiarly. “When we put all of those things together, the cars went from the burden car that you took home and wrote up all your problems about, to being so close. I thought, ‘I’ve still got two levels of real production pilots to go; there’s no way we’re not achieving our targets on this car.’” With nearly a year to go before the 500e’s 2013 release, Giem’s team had dialed in the 500e to the point at which he thought, “We got this thing nailed. This is gonna be a great car.”
Images courtesy of Chrysler Group LLC
During what Giem called that “summer of revelations,” at least three things happened almost all at once to get the 500e to the next level.
the vehicles Conflicting views Giem said as much to Plugincars.com, when that site put out one of the first of many glowing reviews of the 500e in April, ahead of its initial on-sale date. It’s hard not to love the 500e at first sight. It looks simply luscious, like you could pop it in your mouth and chew it. But the positive critiques go much deeper than the surface level. See a sampling of the press praise in the “Bravissimo!” sidebar on the next page. Despite the near-consensus among the critics, the future of the 500e outside of California remains uncertain, and the CEO of FIAT/Chrysler, Sergio Marchionne, has publicly lambasted the 500e - not for its performance or design, but rather for its economics. In a speech to the Society of Automotive Engineers 2013 World Congress
in Detroit, Marchionne said of the 500e, “we will lose $10,000 per vehicle. Doing that on a large scale would be industrial masochism.” Amongst his other comments, Marchionne criticized the approach of government regulators making mandates for specific technologies. He would rather be free to explore other technologies, and called natural gas the “cleanest alternative available,” according to the Detroit News. Marchionne also claimed that FIAT is the “most eco-performing automaker in Europe,” and that more fuel economy improvements for ICE vehicles are forthcoming. Despite Marchionne’s lack of enthusiasm for EVs, some
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I thought, ‘I’ve still got two levels of real production pilots to go; there’s no way we’re not achieving our targets on this car.’
The Numbers
2013 FIAT 500e Key Stats
Engine 83 kW PM electric motor
0-60 mph 9.1 second
Power 111 hp / 147 lb./ft. torque
Top speed 85 mph
Drivetrain Front-wheel drive Transmission Single-speed Battery 24 kWh, liquid-cooled/ heated Li-ion battery EPA combined/city/hwy 116/122/108 MPGe Range 87 miles Charge times (est.) Level 1 (120 V): > 24 hrs.; Level 2 (240 V): > 4 hrs.
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Length/width/height 142.4/64.1/60.1 in. Curb weight 2,980 lb. Cargo capacity 7 cubic ft. Base price $32,500 (before $7,500 federal and $2,500 California tax credit, and $2,000 FIAT incentive) 36-month lease $999 down and $199/month
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the vehicles
Bravissimo!
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I found the 500e noticeably quicker and more maneuverable than the LEAF. It was a blast tossing the small electric two-seater around the crowded city streets, hills, and highways of L.A...the most affordable, stylish and fun (but somewhat cramped) electric car on the market. Brad Berman, Plugincars.com
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The Fiat 500e is just awesome, a nutty electric elf of a car. All dressed up in Playskool aero pieces and available in Life Savers colors, the 500e feels like the big-kid toy the Fiat 500 always wanted to be, with an otherworldly electric hum to go with its whimsical aesthetics...It’s a lot of fun to drive. Dan Neil, Wall Street Journal
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The 500e is a blast, and we actually like it better than its liquid-fueled 500 cousin… the heavy battery pack placed low in the 500e means the EV is more surefooted… When you’re driving around the city in the 500e, you quickly forget you’re not driving in a normal car. Sebastian Blanco, Autoblog
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Modifications include a sealed front end, smoothed underbody, aerodynamically pleasing 15-inch alloy wheels, redesigned side-mirror caps, and a drag coefficient of 0.311. That’s 6.3 percent lower than a 500 Pop, the most aero-efficient gas model. Benson Kong, Motor Trend
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…the 500e is quite impressive...this is one of the few cars I’ve driven that are electric converts from gas models where the handling characteristics actually improved… The car is a big rolling wad of electronics, so it’s pretty full of toys. That round TFT dash display screen is very well-done, and the UI and graphical qualities of the displays are extremely high-quality. Jason Torchinsky, Jalopnik
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Images courtesy of Chrysler Group LLC
You can hustle up a freeway ramp and easily flow into traffic, accompanied only by the thrum of the tires and whoosh of the wind. In fact, aside from the lack of internal-combustion noises, the 500e feels very much like its regular counterpart. FIAT has done a decent job masking the transition from regenerative to friction braking...Urban-scooter aficionados take note. John Lamm, Car and Driver
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The 2013 Fiat 500e may be a compliance car, but its engineers created an electric car that’s so much fun to drive that seemingly they want it to be more. John Voelcker, Green Car Reports
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of his seconds in the Chrysler Group have repeatedly hinted that the 500e would be marketed to the masses, and that it could be expanded to sell in different markets. Autoblog reported in April that FIAT may branch the 500e out to Europe, Asia, and other parts of North America, although only after at least a year of exclusive sales in California. Jiyan Cadiz, a product communications manager for Chrysler Group, also told Charged that if the 500e expanded sales in the US, it would start in the other ZEV states, which are New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Oregon, New Mexico, Maryland, Arizona, and the District of Columbia. As for Marchionne’s despair over losing 10 grand on every 500e, Dan Neil issued an amusing rebuttal in his very positive Wall Street Journal review of the 500e. He said, “Unless FIATChrysler has a secret Dan Neil, plan to power cars Wall Street Journal with giant, watch-like mainsprings, electrification…will be a growing part of the product story in the US. Why curse it? Would somebody please just tackle the boss?” He also brought up the fact that other industries routinely invest (or lose, depending on your perspective) money to make improvements for the public good. For example, airlines spend millions on quieter planes, and telecoms do the same complying with universal-service requirements. His position is that zero-emission mandates acknowledge that cars carry with them public costs related to pollution, infrastructure, injury, and death. You also have to realize that FIAT voluntarily gives up a sizeable chunk of money to make the 500e one of the most affordable EVs to buy, and possibly the most affordable EV to lease. Starting with a base price of $32,500, once you factor in a $7,500 federal tax credit, $2,500 California tax credit, and $2,000 FIAT incentive, the 500e can be yours for a snappy $20,500. That’s still higher than the base-model gas 500, however, the lease price for the 500 Pop model and 500e are identical: $999 down and $199/month for a 36-month lease. Consequently, that made the 500e the best lease deal for a pure EV at press time. Not only that, but FIAT throws
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Would somebody please just tackle the boss?
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in the 500e Pass, an allotment of 12 total days a year of renting any vehicle from Enterprise, so you can take longer trips for which the 500e may not be practical. For that money, the 500e delivers the best range (87 miles), best highway mileage (EPA 108 MPGe), and competitive combined mileage (EPA 116 MPGe) among similarly-priced EVs, which includes the LEAF, Ford Focus Electric, Honda Fit EV, and others (although the 500e is the smallest compact car of the bunch). Several 500e reviewers feel confident that in pure city driving, the car could reach 100 miles on a single charge. The 500e has the same power battery as the larger LEAF - a 24kWh Li-ion chemistry - and sustains a longer range with comparable mileage ratings. United States of Charge FIAT veered away from the air-cooling system that has drawn some harsh criticism from certain LEAF drivers in favor of liquid cooling and heating. California weather can vary from the blistering heat of a Death Valley summer to the bitter cold of a High Sierras winter, so FIAT had to engineer for all conditions. “For this battery to survive at those types of extreme climates, it wouldn’t work without active thermal management,” Giem said. “We definitely spent a lot of time working through how to use the thermal management, like how much should we heat and when? How much should we cool and when? On the cooling side especially we have a passive cooling mode, where you’re flowing the fluid through the radiator and back to the battery. The chemistry of the battery is always very robust. It’ll always deliver and accept current to the same levels no matter what temperature the car is at. Especially in hot
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We definitely spent a lot of time working through how to use the thermal management, like how much should we heat and when?
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Images courtesy of Chrysler Group LLC
the vehicles
conditions, if you start charging and discharging a very hot battery, it destroys the chemistry and loses its life, and frankly, that’s what we’ve been struggling with now in the Nevada/Death Valley area. On the other end of the spectrum, if the car’s at zero or -20 degrees Fahrenheit, chemistry’s chemistry; it starts getting sluggish. It will not give you all the current that you expect to support good driving, so we keep it warm to always flow electricity correctly.” Even though all Li-ion batteries are not created equal, some of the public at large can get very suspicious of the entire technology when high-profile mishaps occur, whether in vehicles, airliners or different types of electronics. Although Giem did not get into specifics, he noted that FIAT has prioritized the 500e’s battery safety to try to allay any of people’s concerns. “We know those come from real events, but mostly in nonautomotive,” Giem offered. “We’ve all heard about the laptop batteries that had issues. We know cell phone
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batteries in everyone’s experience just lose performance over time. As we designed the control systems for these batteries, we made sure that very high on our severity rankings were these types of events, and identified the design solutions to make sure they did not happen. We know exactly how it might happen, and we’ve made sure that it cannot happen by way of design.” A collaboration
It was a design exercise to define the layout of a battery that would maximize range and keep all of the high voltage out of the occupant compartment
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between Bosch and Samsung (for the cells) supplies the batteries for the 500e, and Bosch also has a hand in the battery packaging, management software, electric motor, and regenerative braking system. But all parties involved - and Giem as the coordinator faced the challenge of fitting more than 600 pounds of battery pack, spread across 97 Li-ion cells, into the 500e’s compact frame. The pack sits low and centered in the car, which helps give it the low center of gravity that several of the 500e’s reviewers noted as a boon to its drive and handling. “We looked at the package space in the car and asked ‘If I were to maximize the amount of cells I can put in here, minimize the lift of the floor and the lowering of the ground clearance, how much could I squeeze in and not intrude at all into the occupants’ space?’ It was a design exercise to define the layout of a battery that would maximize range and keep all of the high voltage out of the occupant compartment.” That design exercise became part of FIAT’s competitive analysis when choosing a battery supplier. Giem’s group looked at the lessons they could learn from their competitors, such as Nissan, to find out what not to do. One example of this involves the dashboard display cluster and range settings. Although the Nissan LEAF is highly rated among most its customers, a vocal segment of its user base is severely critical of what they call the dashboard “guessometer” for not being accurate enough. To try to make the 500e better at predicting range, the FIAT team dedicated an engineer whose job
was solely to “solve the equation of range based upon your driving practices and your typical routes,” according to Giem. “We’ve created a range prediction that looks at your last 100 miles of average driving and energy use, as well as the last 10 miles of average energy use,” he said, “and blends those two factors in a not-so-simple algorithm depending upon your state of charge. When you’re 100 percent charged, we’re only looking at your 100-mile average, assuming you’re going to drive like you’ve proven yourself to drive. As we get down further in the
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The second piece of the algorithm is that we don’t update the prediction too fast.
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state of charge, we start blending in more of the local 10-mile range; now it’s more important to your ultimate range on this drive to know what you’ve been doing lately. The second piece of the algorithm is that we don’t update the prediction too fast. That was what was really pissing off the LEAF owners.” The 7-inch thin-film transistor display on the dash can show a couple of small white arrows to the left of the range number that show you whether your current energy use suggests an ultimate range that’s either higher or lower than the displayed range. Giem said, “It’s letting you know that the range number is either going to stay put for a while, go
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Tricks of the trade If you’d like to know whether you’re highly susceptible to Jedi mind tricks, talk to a FIAT 500e marketer. You may hear that the 500e “is not an electric car.” If you believe that, immediately relinquish control of your personal finances to someone stronger with the Force. Of course the 500e is an electric car, but when FIAT says it isn’t, that’s merely to say that it was designed neither to be a typical electric car nor to only appeal to buyers who are specifically targeting EVs. FIAT deliberately left off features that may seem too foreign to drivers of ICE vehicles, such as “Eco” modes and braking coaches. The 500e is meant to feel like a
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We really kept the team to that mission; we would not let them touch anything that wasn’t broken on this car.
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regular 500, and according to the reviewers, the 500e drives either almost exactly like the 500 or even better. Also, FIAT plans to market the 500e to everyone and will recommend the 500e to many people who are initially interested in the 500. Cadiz said that the 500e breaks the stereotype of an EV. “There’s always been this perception - unless it’s a Tesla - that it’s all about efficiency, and that it’s compromised in so many different ways when a car’s adapted to be an EV. The only thing that is really different about the 500e is that it’s more efficient because it’s an electric vehicle. It still has all the fun-to-drive aspects, all the great Italian design that you love about FIAT, and I think that’s what’s going to set us apart.” As chief engineer, Giem worked with FIAT’s brand identity team early on to zero in on the strategy for what the 500e was going to be. “We were very
Images courtesy of Chrysler Group LLC
up because you’ve diminished your energy use, or if you suddenly get on the highway or do some really aggressive driving, it’s going to give you a down arrow, saying ‘I’m overestimating your range right now. If you continue this, I’m going to adjust that number downward.’” On the right-hand side of the display there’s also realtime feedback that shows if you’re in the red zone of high energy burn. “We tried to provide in that cluster all of the tools that the driver would need to get confident about what they’re doing and how the car’s going to react to them,” Giem said.
Many aerodynamic adjustments cover the 500e, such as the dimpled front and rear fascias that give the 500e a distinctive look. aligned that this was not going to be an EV,” Giem said. “It’s going to take the DNA of the Cinquecento - the 500 - and adapt electrification to actually enhance those qualities, which makes it really engaging and keeps it simple. We really kept the team to that mission; we would not let them touch anything that wasn’t broken on this car.” They did, however, add quite a few subtle but meaningful design details to the 500e, quite a few of which will be or already have been transferred to the gas 500. Many aerodynamic adjustments cover the 500e, such as the dimpled front and rear fascias that give it a distinctive look. Other aero treatments, such as the spoiler, mirror caps, and some of the underbody treatments, will transfer to the 500. There is also an entire acoustic treatment package designed for reducing the ambient noise inside the 500e, including an acoustic
windshield, four mastics, thicker carpeting, noise barriers inside the doors, and a spiral antenna that disrupts the airflow around it so it doesn’t hum at certain speeds. Referring to the summer 2012 design spree of the 500e, Giem recalled, “We built our mules with and without this acoustic package and took senior management through it. We showed them, and it was unanimous. They go ‘holy cow, I can’t believe you took this car and made it that good.’” From there, some of the 500 team members joined up to work on bringing the noise reduction elements to the ICE line as well. Now, with the 500e at the very cusp of its retail release, it’s been a prolonged wait, but it will be very interesting to finally see if this well-received compliance EV, which is being marketed as a non-electric, and is rousing the rancor of the company’s top executive, will be a hit for FIAT in spite of itself. “We definitely are on a very slow launch with this just to make sure everything’s perfect,” Giem said. “We’re getting our dealers up to speed, making sure all their charging stations are in, making sure all the replacement parts are available, and getting our containment fleet in the yard so that when we launch to dealers, we actually have enough inventory to use for initial demand. We’re pretty much on track with where we want to be.”
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PARKER RACES IN
Steve Atlas testing Brammo’s 2013 Empulse RR Photo courtesy of Brammo
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Photos courtesy of Brammo
the tech
TO
TRACTION MOTORS P By Michael Kent
After years of development, the company plans to launch a new line of traction motors this summer
arker Hannifin is an industrial motion and control powerhouse. With over $13 billion in sales last year, its products range from hydraulics to pneumatics to electric motors. But until recently, the company’s selection of motors was solely targeted at industrial applications. The design of a traction motor for on-road vehicles varies greatly from the design of a motor for industrial use. Other than the fact that they both contain magnets, copper and steel, everything is different. The orienta-
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the tech
Photos courtesy of Brammo
The volume and space limitations on a motorcycle are unique - perhaps the most demanding of any traction application.
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Because the motor can represent a fair percentage of the cost and weight of a drive system, you don’t want to over-design it in vehicle applications - it needs to be just right.
tion of the magnets themselves is very specific to each market. Because the motor can represent a fair percentage of the cost and weight of a drive system, you don’t want to over-design it in vehicle applications. It needs to be just right. Typically, industrial motors can be oversized and it’s no big deal, because the applications are less sensitive to the weight and volume of the package. In vehicles, cooling is very important. It can shrink the physical size of the motor by as much as 200 or 300 percent, depending on how it’s implemented. And since there’s less of an emphasis on size, industrial motors can get away with simple forced-air cooling, or no cooling system at all. There are also shock, vibration and environmental specifications - all much tighter in vehicle applications. Mobile moves Parker has long-standing relationships with a variety of customers in the mobile space, including off-road, construction, and agriculture equipment makers, as well as over-the-road trucks. Back in the early 2000s, they started to talk to Parker about the electrification movement taking shape. They said “We see electrification as something we want to look into more,” explained Jay Schultz, Parker’s Traction Motor Product Manager. “What do you guys have?” At that time, Parker had nothing in mind for traction motors. So, the company fitted some of its industrial products for use in pilot programs and proof-of-
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concept vehicles, and started studying the application. “We knew that it wasn’t a specific vehicle-duty motor. So, over the course of five to seven years we did a lot of research, listened to our customers’ needs and then kicked off the vehicle motor program back in 2010, with all that experience under our belts,” Schultz told Charged. Timing is everything At the same time the company decided to start with a clean sheet of paper and develop a traction motor line, along came e-motorcycle builder Brammo. “We had just come off running Isle of Man TT with our first electric race motorcycle, and we were looking for a more powerful motor option to compete in the TTXGP in North America,” said Brian Wismann, Brammo’s Director of Product Development. “So, we started collaborating with Parker.” Jay Schultz The partnership allowed Traction Motor Product Manager Parker the opportunity to test prototypes and first-run samples in one of the most demanding environments, the racetrack. “We really got to push the motors to the extent of their capabilities, and Brammo was always demanding more. So, we’d go back to the drawing board to try and get more performance,” said Schultz. The volume and space limitations on a motorcycle are unique - perhaps the most demanding of any traction application. That focus pushed Parker to squeeze every bit of performance into the given package size. With the ultimate goal of developing a standard product line, Parker based the magnetic design around Brammo’s unique requirements.
...we were looking for a more powerful motor option to compete in the TTXGP in North America. So we started collaborating with Parker.
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GVM The result, launching this summer, is Parker’s Global Vehicle Motor (GVM) series, which Brammo features in its Empulse R production bike. The motor comes in a variety of different sizes and power ranges. “One thing that
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With the new release, the company plans to have ten different physical sizes with a variety of winding variations in each size to deliver dozens of power levels.
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Parker’s Global Vehicle Motor (GVM) series is featured on Brammo’s Empulse R production bike.
Photos courtesy of Brammo
we learned from the years prior to launching the development program was that the flexibility we had in our industrial product made us successful with our OEM customers,” explained Schultz. Parker set out from the beginning to have that flexibility be part of its traction motor. With the new release, the company plans to have 10 different physical sizes with a variety of winding variations in each size to deliver dozens of power levels. The production motorcycles for Brammo are at the lower end, and at the higher end, the GVM could power something as big as a small delivery truck. For packaging flexibility, the GVM line comes in two different diameters, 142 mm and 210 mm. Within each of those diameters the length of the motor can grow, starting at 50 mm and going all the way up to 400 mm. “Within that range we have five different standard sizes per diameter,” said Schultz. “A couple of the power outputs overlap, which gives the customer the ability to choose either a narrow long motor that might fit well into one space, or a short fat motor that might fit into another.” Generally, the new motor line will be used in all-electric vehicles
Photo courtesy of Parker
the tech
and PHEVs, which have higher power requirements than standard hybrids. In addition to Brammo, Parker is also working with a number of other automotive customers,
Engineering Notes Torque, diameter and length Assuming equal electrical conditions, torque is linearly related to motor length, but related to the square of diameter, i.e. a motor with twice the diameter will produce four times the torque. Maximum RPM, however, is inversely proportional to the square of diameter, so no free lunch here. This is why servomotors are long and relatively skinny - to allow high RPM and rapid speed changes. Any motor that needs to cover a wide speed range tends to emphasize length over diameter for torque production. However, both of the available diameters for Parker’s GVM line are rated for 8,000 RPM, so speed limitation is not an issue.
Megacity Mobility There is a paradigm shift happening in automotive. Breakthrough technologies are delivering new automotive mobility solutions to meet policy initiatives around sustainable urban transportation. Qualcomm Halo™ Wireless EV Charging is one such enabling technology that will make EV charging easy, efficient and effortless and make owning an EV a simple joy. Find out more at www.qualcommhalo
including a couple of tier-one suppliers, with hopes of going into production in the next year or two. Like most of us in the EV world, Parker sees a huge potential in the market, although the consumer acceptance timeline is a little hard to predict at the moment. In the commercial vehicle space, however, (Parker’s specialty) the math is a bit more straightforward. If a fleet wants to put a hybrid truck into operation, they’re going to be evaluating vehicle costs versus fuel savings, and doing a four- to five-year payback calculation. With commercial vehicles, Schultz believes the scalability of the GVM solution will give it a leg up against other traction motor manufacturers. “Because we are very flexible and can do a 15 kW motor as well as a 200 kW motor, that’s a huge advantage. The competition has a much more limited offering. With our product, customers can use the same technology not only for traction, but for other systems, like body hydraulics and pumps. They can stick with one vendor, one manufacturer, the same type of technology across all of their high-power components.”
EVs IN I
SLANDS make perfect EV habitats. Driving distances are generally short, and the need to ship supplies from the mainland keeps gas prices high. Also, islands around the world face a lot of environmental challenges, and many island economies depend on tourism, so the level of green consciousness tends to be high. Island governments around the world are taking steps to encourage EV adoption, and many are finding that EVs make more sense in conjunction with renewable energy, an insight that will be no surprise to Charged readers. High-tech energy helps EVs to realize their full emissions-reducing potential, while EVs can help utilities manage the intermittent nature of most renewable energy sources. On many islands the existing mix of energy supplies cries out for modernization. Grungy oil- or dieselpowered plants are usually a major (and sometimes the only) source of electricity, while renewable opportunities abound. All islands have wind and wave power available, and those in warmer climes have plenty of solar potential.
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RADISE BY CHARLIE MORRIS
the vehicles Aloha, EVs! The top contender for the title of Island EV Paradise is currently Hawaii. Margaret Larson, Transportation Energy Specialist at the Hawaii State Energy Office, spoke with Charged about the Aloha State’s strategy to encourage EV adoption. Her office is coordinating efforts with partners at universities, utilities, local businesses and other state agencies, as well as the DOE, which has provided grant funding for various pilot programs. Hawaii’s EV efforts date back to 1993, when the state government evaluated a fleet of Hyundai Santa Fe EVs as part of a DARPA-funded project. In 1998 the state installed some of the nation’s earliest rapid charging infrastructure. As Ms Larson explained, Hawaii has a unique combination of energy challenges and opportunities that makes it an ideal place to showcase EVs. The state’s gas prices are the highest in the US (at this writing, the stuff is going for around $4.20 a gallon on Oahu, and on the neighbor islands prices can be over $5). The islands have a unique ecosystem that’s vulnerable to various environmental impacts, and the state’s dependence on imported fossil fuels makes its economy susceptible to supply shocks. Like all islands, Hawaii has limited driving distances and an abundance of renewable energy - including geothermal, thanks to its famous volcanoes. The state has an enviably stable climate year-round, and the temperature range (68-95° F) happens to be ideal for EV batteries. There’s a constant influx of tourists who rent cars (and, incidentally, spread the green word when they get back home). By no means least important, the state has the political will to encourage EV adoption. In partnership with the DOE, the state has instituted the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, which sets an official goal of a 70% clean energy by 2030. Electric mobility has an important role to play in reaching this objective.
Electricity prices are high in Paradise - currently around 34 cents/kWh on Oahu, and as high as 45 cents on some of the smaller “neighbor islands.”
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Electricity prices are high in Paradise - currently around 34 cents/kWh on Oahu, and as high as 45 cents on some of the neighbor islands. Each island has its own isolated grid, and most power is generated from oil-fired plants, with a little bit from coal and renewables. The Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative sets a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) of 15% by 2015, 25% by 2020 and 40% by 2030. The combination of high gas prices and high electricity costs means that Hawaii residents face about the same
The Hawaii EV Ready Program, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided $4.5 million for various EV-related goodies, including rebates of up to $4,500 for EVs and... grants to install public chargers.
Photo courtesy of AeroVironment
Gas station operator Aloha Petroleum installed AeroVironment DC fast chargers at three of its stores on Oahu
payback period calculation that mainlanders do. Larson estimates that driving a LEAF in Hawaii costs about 10 cents per mile, compared to 13 cents per mile for a gassipping Honda Civic. State incentives The Hawaii EV Ready Program, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the stimulus) provided $4.5 million for various EV-related goodies, including rebates of up to $4,500 for EVs and up to $500 for charging
stations, as well as grants to Aerovironment, Better Place and others to install public chargers. It also funded the purchase EVs for fleet use and tools to stimulate Hawaii’s EV-market demand. Alas, those funds have been used up, and the program has concluded successfully. EV drivers in Hawaii receive special license plates, entitling them to a generous amount of free parking (2.5 hours at most public parking, even more in some spots), as well as use of high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. Hawaiian Electric (HECO) offers net metering and
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the vehicles
The LEAF, Volt, Prius Plugin, Ford Focus Electric and Mitubishi i-MiEV are all available in the state, and as of April, a total of 1,331 plug-ins were on the road
Photo courtesy of Chie Gondo (flickr)
time-of-use (TOU) rates for home and commercial charging. A state law prevents homeowners’ associations (including those at multiunit dwellings) from prohibiting charging stations. All parking lots with at least 100 spaces available to the public are required to install a charging station, and clueless dinosaur drivers who ICE out EV drivers are subject to a fine. The LEAF, Volt, Prius Plug-in, Ford Focus Electric and Mitubishi i-MiEV are all available in the state, and as of April, a total of 1,331 plug-ins were on the road. The state government has 10 EVs (Volts and LEAFs) in its motor pool, as well as
Nissan LEAF promotional event in Honolulu
a dozen Level 2 charging stations at state-owned parking lots. Car rental agencies are getting with the program, too. Enterprise has 20-30 EVs in its fleet, and a startup car sharing company called Green Car Hawaii offers EVs by the hour through hotels on Oahu and Kauai. Hawaii has by far the most charging stations per capita of any state. There were about 343 public charging ports at last count, including six DC fast chargers, operated by Aerovironment. Better Place installed most of the Level 2 chargers, but has recently filed for liquidation, so its Hawaiian units will be swapped out with new hardware on different networks. ChargePoint, ECOtality and several others are also
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part of the scene. The state wants to be a test bed for the charging business, and welcomes other companies to the party. One of these, a local group of young entrepreneurs called Volta Charging, has a unique advertising-based business model. It collects money for ads on the chargers, and so is able to offer free electricity to customers and incentives to site owners for installation. The Hawaii State Energy Office sees the conjunction between EVs and renewables quite clearly. Its web site states that “the deployment of EVs in Hawaii is occurring concurrently with the expansion of renewable electricity on Hawaii’s electrical grid.” EVs are seen as a big help to fulfilling the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard.
Photo courtesy of Kanaka Menehune (flickr)
A Tesla Roadster charging at a University of Hawaii Clean Energy Day event 189-000031_ChargedEVs_ThirdPg_Ad.pdf
The Energy Office calculates that, on average, the amount of fossil fuel used to power an EV in Hawaii is 31% less than the fossil fuel required to power a similar gasoline-fueled vehicle. This is expected to get even better as more renewable energy comes online. EVs tend to be charged at night, which is when excess wind energy is likely to be available. If EV battery charging is controlled so that the rate of charging can be adjusted based on the grid’s supply, it could give electric utilities a powerful tool to make use of excess renewable energy and manage the challenges caused by intermittent power sources. Most vehicles sit idle over the course of a day, so they can become energy storage devices if they are plugged into the grid when not in use. Of course, if all this is to work, EV drivers must have an incentive to C
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the vehicles charge at the desired times, and the main tool for this is TOU pricing. HECO began a pilot TOU program in 2010 to encourage drivers to charge EVs during off-peak times. EV TOU rates are currently available to 1,000 customers on Oahu, 300 on Maui, and 300 on the Big Island. Charging during HECO’s off-peak times (9pm-7am every day, and anytime on weekends) costs about six cents per kWh below the standard rate on Oahu. Charging during peak hours (7am-9pm on weekdays) costs two to five cents above the standard rate. Residential customers can use the TOU rate under a single house meter or under a separate meter used only for charging. HECO reports that about a fourth of known EV drivers have enrolled in the TOU program. Other islands of opportunity Hawaii is the biggest “EVs in Paradise” case study to date, but similar stories are taking place on islands around the world (at least, affluent ones). In the Orkneys, a frigid and starkly beautiful island group off the north coast of Scotland, the local Council began promoting EVs in 2011, when it installed a charging point at a school and purchased two Peugeot IoNs (a rebadged version of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV). Since then, more chargers have been installed, and several local businesses have leased IoNs. In May of this year, three development trusts in Orkney took delivery of four LEAFs, which will be used in a two-year pilot to test a “demand side management” approach that will address current constraints on the local grid. While local governments are trying to create favorable conditions for EVs to thrive, the ultimate goal is always for private business to step into the driver’s seat. One entrepreneur who sees the potential of island EV ecosystems is David Soens, a co-founder and managing partner of Oak Energy Partners, which specializes in renewable energy projects, demand response and charging station infrastructure. As he observed the efforts of ECOtality, ChargePoint and others to build EV charging networks on the US mainland, he saw that, as the EVSE ecosystem gets built out, there will be (hopefully lucrative) holes to be filled, so he formed a Philadelphia-based company called U-Go Stations. Soens found a like-minded colleague in John Felder, a former Chrysler exec who owns EV dealerships in Bermuda and Grand Cayman, and the two formed a partnership to build an island-wide charging network on
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Grand Cayman. The Cayman Islands government is quite interested in clean tech, and is cooperating with U-Go in various ways. The network is scheduled to be operational this summer. Phase I calls for four public charging stations, including one with a 4 kW solar array in the center of Georgetown, the capital. Other locations will be near the airport and at Rum Point, a popular tourist attraction near the harbor.
Many island nations impose hefty tariffs on all imported goods - a break on those tariffs can amount to a strong purchase incentive.
U-Go’s island chargers will be part of the SemaConnect network, and the initial plan is to charge customers a flat monthly subscription fee. For property owners, U-Go offers to install a charger for free and share the revenue. Many island nations impose hefty tariffs on all imported goods - a break on those tariffs can amount to a strong purchase incentive. The Cayman government has reduced the tariff on EVs from over 40% to 10%. There are no auto dealers on Grand Cayman that carry EVs in inventory, but Felder’s dealership offers several brands for import, including the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Wheego city cars, Smith commercial vehicles, Polaris neighborhood EVs, and Zero electric motorcycles. The island’s utility director drives a Volt, and at least one island resident has ordered a Model S. Electricity rates on Grand Cayman are over 40 cents/kWh - a powerful incentive to pursue renewable energy. The government offers a feed-in tariff, which will give U-Go some monthly income for the power generated by its solar installation. Soens and his partners are also talking with governments in the Bahamas and elsewhere in the region, and will be inviting officials to come and see their network when it’s up and running. Soens notes that, all over the Caribbean, electricity comes from expensive and dirty diesel, so the powerhouse combo of EVs and renewables could save tremendous amounts of money, while cleaning up the air - but it’s only the combination of the two that will really unlock the value. “To make this model work, we’ve got to get into renewables,” says Soens.
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the infrastructure
The
changing
CHARGING LANDSCAPE
R
eporting on the charging industry is a tough gig. It’s incredibly nuanced. Every question we ask the experts leads to three more questions. It turns out that when you take hardware, software, networks, protocols and panels, then mix in some public funding, you get endless opinions. We’ll attempt to clarify two issues in the thick of it: OCPP and Collaboratev. First of all, they’re two completely different topics the two discussions have little to do with each other. When talking OCPP and Collaboratev, many terms and concepts get banded together that aren’t necessarily related. Because Charged is a big fan of clarity, we think it’s important that EV industry insiders have a good understanding of the subjects, so here goes.
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First of all, OCPP and Collaboratev are two completely different topics the two discussions have little to do with each other.
OCPP
There’s definitely confusion, but is there controversy? By Christian Ruoff
Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) is a language for communication between charging stations and a managing central system, or network.
Image courtesy of ChargePoint
Image courtesy of ECOtality
There are also other open protocols, and some companies use “proprietary” systems to communicate with charging hardware.
Encouraging choice, reducing costs Not only has OCPP been “embraced” by several EVSE manufacturers and networks, it is also required by some governments and large organizations, like utility companies, that are funding charging station deployments. The idea is that OCPP promotes choice and reduces cost. Say, for example, a utility company in Europe wants to fund the deployment of 100 charging stations. It chooses a back-end network solution - let’s call it xNetwork - to manage the billing, access control, usage data, etc. Using OCPP, this xNetwork could then link to hardware from many different manufacturers. Twenty charging stations made by ABB, twenty made by Eaton, twenty made by Fuji, and so on. OCPP offers the ability to choose, and use, different hardware for one network with as little friction as possible. Open standards also enable a network to grow with additional hardware options over time, especially important as technology changes and capabilities increase within the hardware space. Also, OCPP lets users switch back-end systems. If, in time, this utility company isn’t happy with the services of the xNetwork, for whatever reason, it could theoretically dump it for another company’s network service solution. The cost savings come through the reduction of manpower needed to integrate new systems. Since everyone speaks the same language, companies within the charging
Image courtesy of ABB
The protocol started as an initiative... aiming to create an open communication standard that would allow charging stations and central systems from different vendors to easily communicate with each other. Although initially intended for the 10,000 E-Laad charging stations in the Netherlands, the protocol has already been adopted by several similar initiatives in different countries. Consequently it has been embraced by a great number of charge point vendors and central system suppliers in Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark,
Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States.
Image courtesy of SemaConnect
OCPP is short for Open Charge Point Protocol, a popular language used for communications between charging station hardware - like that made by ABB, Aerovironment, Bosch, DBT, Eaton, Fuji, Schneider, Siemens, etc. - and the managing network systems - like ChargePoint, ECOtality, eVgo, Greenlots, OpConnect, SemaConnect, etc. (there are other open protocols, but for the purposes of this article we’ll only refer to OCPP). OCPP was developed by a group in the Netherlands called the E-Laad Foundation. Its web site sums up the history nicely:
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the infrastructure industry don’t need to spend time and money integrating with each other - there’s less non-recurring engineering. By going out to bid for OCPP-enabled systems, an owner can save significant time bringing together the multiple vendors required for functioning infrastructure, effectively streamlining the bid process. Ideally, the savings are passed on to customers. Controversy? In the US, however, OCPP hasn’t quite swept across the charging industry as it has elsewhere, and much of the EVSE that has been deployed was designed prior to OCPP being widely adopted. The US OCPP controversy mainly stems from the fact that two companies (ECOtality and ChargePoint) have been the largest recipients of the government grants that kick-started the industry, and they don’t exclusively use OCPP. In many cases those networks use proprietary communication protocols that are unique to each company. The gist of the gripe is that tax money was spent to give these companies a stranglehold on these publiclyfunded installs - “vendor lock-in,” as some call it. If the station owners, or site hosts, want to switch networks, they will need to switch hardware too (but, again, this is not why there is a need for an organization like Collaboratev - that’s a different issue). Many believe that if everyone fully adopted OCPP, then charging station site hosts would be able to switch network providers at will. But that is not necessarily true. The rub is that even if these two US market leaders fully embrace OCPP - and ChargePoint CEO Pat Romano told us they plan to in time - it doesn’t mean that existing charging stations could be easily moved to other networks. Even if a station protocol has a common syntax, there can still be custom code in the station that only allows it to talk to the network it was originally designed to talk to. A station authenticates by using an encrypted certificate-based authentication on both sides, so it can say, “If I’m not talking to my network, I’m not talking - OCPP or no OCPP.” You can especially expect this bias from network vendors that also supply the station hardware, as ChargePoint and ECOtality do in
If the station owners, or site hosts, want to switch networks, they will need to switch hardware too
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Photo courtesy of ECOtality
many instances. Essentially, the companies would have to cooperate with a charging station takeover by another network. So, why does ChargePoint currently support OCPP and intend to eventually migrate its whole network? Because it allows new hardware manufacturers to integrate with network companies, like ChargePoint, with less effort. Should the government mandate that network providers make it possible, or easy, for their services to be replaced by competitors? (Insert your opinion here.) It’s unlikely that such an order will be handed down in the US, at least for business deals between two private companies. So, the customer needs to be savvy enough to say, “I want a solution that allows me the freedom to fire you if I’m not happy, or to easily switch network providers if you go out of business.” A slightly more realistic scenario would be a mandate that public funds can only be spent on systems that promote the ultimate amount of choice, and the minimal amount of possible vendor lock-in. This is the case in much of Europe, where the attitude seems to be, “It’s our tax money, so your company should have to compete to get it, and continually fight to keep that business.” However, it’s a little late for that debate in the US. The pile of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act cash (aka Obama’s 2009 Stimulus) has come and gone, and OCCP wasn’t mandated, for whatever reason, when that dough was dished out. So, what is there to do now? What do you say we put that policy in place for future use of public funds, everybody drop it, and we move on in the name of progress? After all, the charging industry is very young, not even out of diapers yet. ChargePoint is the early US leader with only about 12,000 charging ports, hardly a monopoly on parking spots. Quick solutions to any sort of industry infighting are ideal, but don’t hold your breath waiting for this discussion to end.
Should the government mandate that network providers make it possible, or easy, for their services to be replaced by competitors?
(Have an opinion? Letters to the editor can be sent to info@ChargedEVs.com.)
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76 Photo courtesy of ECOtality
the infrastructure
What we know about Collaboratev
By David Herron In March 2013, ChargePoint and ECOtality jointly announced a new company, Collaboratev, LLC. Its mission is to allow members of one network access to charging stations operated by other networks - roaming for EVs, as many have called it. Easy, low-cost access to a charging station is facilitated by a membership in the network that that station is part of. But a member of one particular network does not have that easy access to all charging stations on other networks. To EV drivers, many of whom carry multiple network memberships, Collaboratev could offer a welcome simplification. However, the announcement has left a lot of unanswered questions about the implementation of what amounts to a roaming agreement, and what it will actually mean for customers.
The partnership aims to solve the problems identified by the ANSI panel, with a stated goal to “make charging on any network simple and seamless.”
What we know so far The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Electric Vehicles Standards Panel was formed to “foster coordination and collaboration” among EV industry stakeholders. The group has been developing roadmaps and identifying major obstacles to the mass adoption of EVs. In the realm of public charging, they found three big issues: allowing an electric vehicle driver to easily use the infrastructure of charging networks they are not a member of; locating public charging stations and reserving them ahead of time; and offline access control where a driver may be denied access to a charging station. ANSI identified the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) as the correct standards body to solve these problems. So, a NEMA committee was formed, with employees of ChargePoint and ECOtality as
chairmen, and those companies are behind the launch of Collaboratev. The partnership aims to solve the problems identified by the ANSI panel, with a stated goal to “make charging on any network simple and seamless.” Specifically: • Provide drivers with easy access to stations in participating networks using common authentication credentials. • Enable all charges to be billed through the driver’s home account independent of which network is used. • Accurately provide aggregated static and real-time EV charging station location and status. In an SEC filing by ECOtality, Collaboratev is described as a “joint venture entity” that is 50 percent owned by ChargePoint and ECOtality. If, or when, other charging station networks join Collaboratev, they will buy joint ownership shares. Each company that joins will do so at the ownership level they are willing to buy, and multiple ownership tiers are expected as Collaboratev grows. As soon as a third company buys into Collaboratev, every member company will have a minority ownership stake. As a free-standing entity, Collaboratev will have its own CEO, management staff, engineers, etc. The first task is to develop the software and web service hosting infrastructure to implement its core functions. Collaboratev will play a role in the EV charging business similar to that of the companies that interconnect banks with debit and credit card systems. Examine the back of your card and you’ll see various icons, each of them is associated with a company that operates an interconnection network between banks and the card systems. Those
As soon as a third company buys into Collaboratev, every member company will have a minority ownership stake.
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the infrastructure
companies are what allow roaming ATM use at kiosks that are operated by various banks. Collaboratev’s services are functionally equivalent. To aggregate billing to one account, the company will provide payment settlement services among the charging companies. To grant a member of one network access to services on another network, Collaboratev will pass authentication requests back and forth. What the customer will see In theory, EV drivers will see little change, except that they’ll have more choice in the charging stations they can use. They will receive new membership cards, because the new system will require a common RFID standard for authentication. The back of the new card will have an icon for Collaboratev. Currently, fees to use charging stations are set by the station owners (not the network service providers), and this will not change. When a driver uses a charging station that is outside of their network and authenticated through Collaboratev, a surcharge will be tacked on, similar to the ATM fees customers pay at other banks’ ATMs. In the background, Collaboratev will debit the account of the driver’s charging network, and credit the
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Images courtesy of Recargo and PlugShare
Collaboratev plans to offer a service that lets these applications access a data feed, ensuring up-todate information that is as good as the data the network itself has. account of the charging station owner. Electric car drivers will not interact directly with Collaboratev, just as ATM card holders do not interact directly with the companies that handle payment settlements for banks. Presumably, the surcharge will be small enough to discourage drivers from continuing to hold multiple charging network memberships, as many do today. However, the fee structure has yet to be announced. Privacy considerations Member identification data is encrypted when that data is sent outside a member’s home network. This is done to limit the spread of identification data, but more importantly because Collaboratev doesn’t have a usage agreement with the members. That
Presumably, the surcharge will be small enough to discourage drivers from continuing to hold multiple charging network memberships.
means neither Collaboratev nor the other networks in the system have a right to see the actual member data. To become a member of a network, one clicks through an agreement for terms and conditions and privacy policies. That gives the network the right to know the identity of its members, and their credit card information, but not that of others. If the authentication payload is encrypted, the data can be passed to third parties and carried along with each transaction, without exposing the information. The encrypted data can only be decrypted by the member’s home network. Station location data feeds for third-party use Third-party station locating applications, like cell phone apps and in-vehicle navigation systems, get charging station information through various means, including crowdsourcing and government databases. These maps do their best to aggregate data from multiple sources, but the information isn’t always accurate. Also, they usually do not enable advanced features such as reservations for charging stations. NEMA is defining a new set of protocols that will be required for communication between networks and Collaboratev (different from OCPP, or the proprietary protocols between the charging stations and the networks - those will not change). Among the new standards is a protocol that covers real-time station data for third parties. Collaboratev plans to offer a service that lets these applications access a data feed, ensuring up-to-date information that is as good as the data the network itself has.
Some challenge the architecture of a single clearing-house system. Others argue that the clearing house should not be controlled by a private for-profit business... America. There’s also the question of whether charging station networks in other countries will adopt the internetwork protocols defined by an American standards organization, NEMA. Skeptics The concept of Collaboratev has its share of skeptics. Because it’s predominantly controlled by two companies, there is concern that it could create an artificial price floor. Public charging has a very elastic price point, and some argue that anything other than a very small roaming fee could discourage use. Some challenge the architecture of a single clearing-house system. Others argue that the clearing house should not be controlled by a private for-profit business, but rather by a mission-based nonprofit entity. Also, the joint venture will likely receive public funding to aid development. And because ChargePoint and ECOtality are spearheading the launch, that idea drives some people crazy. Supporters of Collaboratev say it will help to spur competition in the marketplace, because customers of new networks will be able to use thousands of other charging stations as start-ups build out their infrastructure. Skeptics argue that the cost to buy into Collaboratev could be viewed as a barrier to entry for a fledgling network. For the most part, the skeptics’ concerns seem centered around uncertainty, which will only be quenched, or fueled, as more details are agreed upon and announced. NEMA’s timeline for developing the protocols extends until the end of 2013. According to the March 2013 press release announcing Collaboratev, the company will be connecting with ChargePoint and ECOtality, at least, by the end of 2013.
For the most part, the skeptics’ concerns seem centered around uncertainty, which will only be quenched, or fueled, as more details are agreed upon and announced.
International scope NEMA and ANSI are both US organizations and Collaboratev is an American company, so the scope considered, so far, is service within the USA. However, the same issues (multiple charging networks) exist in other countries. And there’s a question of traveling internationally - either driving one’s own car or renting an electric car at a destination. Collaboratev is likely to expand to other countries, but its first order of business is to prove itself in North
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JUNE 2013 79
the vehicles
TAXING
EV$ BY DAVID HERRON The electric car may have come back from the dead, but it won’t escape life’s other inevitability
H
ow do we pay for the highway system? The roads don’t build themselves, in fact they cost a ton of money to construct and maintain. In the US, most of the money comes from gasoline taxes, which have proven to be an efficient method for funding highways. The tax is collected at the pump and directly related to usage - more miles driven, means more fuel consumed and more taxes paid. Over the long term, however, gas taxes will become a less efficient means of filling the highways’ coffers. Electric cars obviously do not consume gasoline, so there’s the first problem. Also, some vehicles, like plug-in hybrids, consume much less gasoline per mile, so owners of these efficient rides pay considerably less into highway funds. As a result, several states in the US are implementing, or considering, taxes targeting electric cars.
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The options While it’s clear that, in the long run, some changes will be required to the highway funding systems, the big question is: What’s the best solution that will serve all our needs and encourage increasing fuel efficiency? The last two years have seen proposals in several states, not all of which are comprehensively holistic. Proposals being considered include: • Elimination of the gasoline tax coupled with a new taxation scheme • Adding a flat yearly registration fee for electric cars, or more broadly cars that run on fuels other than gasoline and diesel • Adding a per-mile tax for electric cars or those with high fuel efficiency • Taxing the electricity delivered through a charging station
Flag images courtesy of Nicolas Raymond (flickr)
While many call for a comprehensive rethink of transportation system funding, many state legislatures are essentially going for the quick fix. Only Oregon and Minnesota are looking at the whole system.
Washington State In 2012, the Washington State Legislature passed HB 2660, which includes a range of tweaks to transportation system revenue. The final bill report noted that 85% of funding for the statewide transportation system came from a variety of taxes and fees imposed on fuels, vehicles and drivers. Of that, 59% comes from fuel taxes and 21% comes from licenses, permits and fees.
That law included a new tax of $100 on EVs that is charged along with the yearly vehicle registration renewal. It applies to any EV with a top speed over 35 mph, and it went into effect on February 1, 2013. The fee is due to expire if any legislation in Washington is passed that imposes a miles-traveled tax or fee. “Electric vehicles put just as much wear and tear on our roads as gas vehicles,” said state Senator Mary Margaret Haugen. “This simply ensures that they contribute their fair share to the upkeep of our roads.”
Oregon In 2001, the Oregon Legislature formed the Road User Fee Task Force (RUFTF), chartered to find a system to offset a drop in gasoline tax revenue from fuel-efficient vehicles. Oregon has had at least two pilot projects to test road-user-fee collection on a per-mile basis. In the latest pilot, 50 participants paid a couple of cents per mile and received a credit for any gas taxes paid at the fuel pump. They reported miles driven either with a smartphone application or a GPS device, and participants could also pay a flat fee. The variety of choices available was meant to get insight into which plan would be more attractive to electric car owners. In 2011, the Legislature considered a bill that would have imposed a 1.2-cents-per-mile tax for EV drivers. That rate was set to be equivalent to a 25 mpg gasolinepowered car. The law was rejected, but the RUFTF has continued to work on proposals, and is generally interested in instituting a per-mile fee, not just for electric and hybrid vehicles
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the vehicles but for any with high fuel efficiency. One proposal being considered by the task force is to apply per-mile fees to any vehicle exceeding a 55 mpg fuel efficiency, allowing fees to automatically apply to vehicles as they conform with the new CAFE standard for 2025. Draft legislation for the 2013 session of the Oregon Legislature, LC266, would: • Require payment of either a flat annual road usage charge, or a per-mile charge, with the system going into effect on July 1, 2015. • Allow those choosing to pay a per-mile charge will be able to request refunds based on fuel taxes paid at the pump, or for miles driven on private property. • Require the Oregon DOT to create methods for reporting vehicle miles driven. In the pilot project they used a box connected to the OBD-II port. HB2453, introduced in late February 2013, would apply a per-mile fee to vehicles with a fuel efficiency (or equivalent) greater than 55 mpg. The bill doesn’t set a fee, but the task force considered fees up to 1.56 cents per mile. At that level there would be a $234 charge on EVs driven 15,000 miles a year. Because it is a tax-raising measure, the bill would require support from three-fifths (60%) of the state legislature. “This is not about penalizing electric vehicle owners,” said state Senator Bruce Starr. “But why should they get a tax-free ride?”
Virginia On the heels of the electric car taxation news from Washington State and Oregon, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell proposed, in January 2013, a major overhaul in Virginia’s transportation funding. The high points of the plan were an elimination of the gasoline tax, replacing it with a sales tax increase dedicated to transportation funding, and adding a new tax on EVs. Unlike proposals in other states, this one drew an actual protest rally when Virginians circled the capitol building. A petition drive received thousands of signatures. The proposal passed by the Virginia Legislature, HB2313, takes this approach: • Replace the current 17.5 cents a gallon gasoline tax with a 3.5% wholesale tax paid by gasoline distributors, and a 6% wholesale tax on diesel.
Singled out The Plug-in Electric Vehicle Collaborative, an advocacy group in California, published a position paper titled “PEV Collaborative Transportation Funding Consensus Statement,” in September 2012. They wrote, “While all road users should contribute to the transportation system, singling out electricity for new taxation will do little to solve the nationwide transportation-funding shortfall and could undermine the adoption of clean vehicles that reduce emissions and dependence on oil.” The paper went on to note four principles we should keep in mind: 1. Transportation system revenue losses due to vehicle electrification will remain negligible through this decade.
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2. Taxation that singles out electricity as a transportation fuel over other alternative fuels is inappropriate. 3. Unlike gasoline or diesel, electricity used as a transportation fuel is generally subject to local utility taxes that fund local services, such as fire departments and local road maintenance. 4. Resolution of the overarching transportation funding problem should treat all vehicles and fuels equitably and should continue to encourage reductions in petroleum consumption and pollution, and increases in energy efficiency.
• Increase the sales tax from 5% to 5.3%. • Add an additional $100 to the yearly registration fee for hybrid, electric and alternative fuel vehicles. • Increase the sales tax on motor vehicle sales from 3% to 4%. • Increase money diverted from the general fund to the transportation fund.
vehicle mileage fee pilot program by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.” The bill would, as the title suggests, create a pilot program for testing a mile-based tax for electric cars, and says mileage could be measured either by a periodic manual check or from “a device installed in the vehicle that electronically reports the number of miles traveled.” It was sent to the Transportation Committee, and had no further activity.
Flag images courtesy of Nicolas Raymond (flickr)
The wholesale tax would be paid by gasoline and diesel distributors, rather than by the general public. The sales tax increases would be largely dedicated to transportation funding. Some of the protest against the bill came from anti-tax crusaders who positioned it as a tax increase. Gov. McDonnell had promised not to raise taxes, but political opponents accuse him of ushering in the largest tax increase since 2004. Passage required gaining much support from Democrats because of anti-tax Republican opposition.
Texas In January 2013, a report in the Texas Tribune quoted Texas state Representative Drew Darby saying “I think we need to make sure that electric vehicles that tear up our roads pay their fair share. Should we have the same registration fee for fuel-burning vehicles as electric vehicles?” The quote was picked up by other media as if Texas was about to start taxing electric cars, just like Washington State. However, no legislation of this sort is currently being considered by the Texas Legislature. A query to Rep. Darby’s office drew a reply from his Chief of Staff, Jason Modglin, saying “There is no current proposal from this office to generate a fee on electric vehicles commensurate with a gasoline-powered vehicle’s average fuel tax obligation.” In 2010, Rep. Linda Harper Brown introduced HB 1669, “Relating to the establishment of an electric motor
Indiana In the 2013 session of the Indiana Legislature, SB 613 was introduced. The bill’s focus is the collection of retail taxes on alternative fuels, and it imposes a road-impact fee on EV purchases. The bill was immediately referred to the Committee on Tax and Fiscal Policy, which has a long list of bills to consider. The bill would require a tax on hydrogen, coal-derived fuels, and non-alcohol biofuels, at a rate of $0.18 per gallon gasoline equivalent (GGE). GGE is a standard method developed by the US EPA to compare efficiency between different fuel types. It is based on the BTU content of the fuels being compared, and lets one say that 1.5
In one, out the other “We strongly oppose a tax on EVs. We can’t provide customers an incentive from one hand and then take it back with the other. At some point, EVs will need to pay their fair share for road maintenance, but it’s too early, and any cost increase to the consumer will hurt sales and slow market adoption.” GM’s Shad Balch, in response to an electric car tax proposal
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the vehicles gallons of ethanol, 33.41 kilowatt-hours of electricity or 357.37 cubic feet of hydrogen is equivalent to one gallon of gasoline. The bill would require payment of an annual “local road impact fee” that applies to EVs and any plug-in hybrid with an electric range of 35 miles or more. The proposed fee is $100 for a passenger EV, $200 for a truck, van, recreational vehicle or bus with a weight under 9,000 lbs, $250 for one under 11,000 lbs, and $500 for tractors meant to be used with semitrailers.
mechanism of funding the state’s highway maintenance and construction program and as the major contributor of state aid to local government transportation budgets.” The report is due on January 1, 2014. The original bill would have defined anyone owning or operating a charging station as a public utility, and would have required each station to have its own meter to accurately measure usage. The fee would have been comparable to the existing gasoline tax, in a manner decided by the Kansas DOT but presumably based on GGE.
Kansas Kansas state Representative Tom Sloan proposed HB2455 in January 2012, to enact a new fee on electricity for plugin vehicles. It would be an “at the pump” tax similar in essence to the gasoline tax, but on electricity. The proposal was met with opposition, and another bill was almost immediately substituted. That bill became law in July 2012 and called for the Kansas Department of Transportation to “organize a discussion with the public and all interested stakeholders about the long-term feasibility of relying on the motor fuel tax as the primary
Arizona In January 2012, Arizona state Representative Steve Farley proposed HB2257, which would enact a per-mile tax on EVs. At the time he said, “One of the only ways we pay for our roadways is through gas tax. If they’re not paying into the gas tax system, we need to find a way of closing that loophole and getting them to pay for the roads they use.” The proposed fee is $0.01 per mile, to be adjusted for inflation every year.
Don’t blame us Jay Friedland, Legal Director of Plug-in America, described the organization’s position in three specific points: 1. EV drivers should pay their fair share of road taxes. 2. EV drivers are not a significant cause of road tax shortfalls, if only because their numbers are still fairly small. We should phase in plug-
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in road taxes after, perhaps, 100,000 vehicles per state or by some date, e.g. 2020. 3. A flat EV tax is just as unfair as a flat gas tax would be. And it doesn’t address any of the other causes, or other alternate fuels. A better solution is a weight-adjusted mileage tax for all cars, regardless of propulsion. The best solution would be a road tax based on VMT and weight.
any migration to a “Mileage Based User Fee” funding system would require 10-15 years to implement because of the time required to resolve policy, public outreach, and technical/administrative issues.
Flag images courtesy of Nicolas Raymond (flickr)
California In January 2013, Assemblyman Scott Wilk introduced AB204, which would create an additional registration fee for “green vehicles.” The bill, as introduced, would “impose a fee in conjunction with registration on green vehicles to address the costs of those vehicles using public roads and highways.”
Minnesota “People want fairness on the way they’re taxed on their roadway system,” said Tom Sorel of the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The MnDOT has a research program, the Minnesota Mileage Based User Fee Policy Task Force (MMBUFPTF), which is looking to enact a mileage-based user fee. The task force produced a report in December 2011 that specifically calls out EV drivers for paying no taxes to support the transportation system. In Minnesota, the owner of a light-duty truck getting 20 mpg who drives 20,000 miles per year pays $280 in state and $184 in federal gas taxes. A 40-mpg hybrid owner pays $140 in state and $92 in federal gas taxes for driving the same distance. An electric car owner pays $0. The paper also notes that the US Congress concluded
Michigan In Michigan, HB4608 would increase the yearly vehicle registration fee by $75 for an EV under 8,000 lbs, and $200 for EVs over 8,000 lbs. For plug-in hybrid vehicles, the registration fee would increase by $25 and $100, respectively.
New Jersey SB2531, introduced in February 2013, would exempt passenger vehicles from the motor fuels tax, and replace it with a vehicle-miles-traveled tax that applies equally to all vehicles. The tax calculation will be based on selfreported odometer readings. Any time a vehicle is sold, the odometer reading will be recorded by the state on the vehicle registration. Every year when the vehicle registration is renewed, the owner will self-report the odometer reading and pay a tax based on the miles driven. Fraudulently reporting the odometer readings will result in a fine, and the state can require vehicle owners to report to an inspection station to verify odometer readings.
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evnetics
power. elegance.
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Flag images courtesy of Nicolas Raymond (flickr)
the vehicles Vermont Two amendments to H.510, passed in April 2013, made a few changes to Vermont’s transportation system and gasoline taxes, and called for a study of taxing both electric and propane powered vehicles. The law directs the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to study “the feasibility, alternative implementation mechanisms, and time line for replacing, in whole or in part, motor fuel tax revenues not collected from operators of plug-in hybrid and allelectric vehicles.” A November 2012 report by the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, titled “Alternative Fuel Vehicle User Fee Options,” comprehensively studied the issues and suggested that a yearly fee of $146 would be close to the amount paid by owners of gasoline-powered cars.
North Carolina SB710, Fair Share Contribution for Electric Vehicles, was introduced in April 2013. It applies to any “plug-in electric vehicle that does not rely on a nonelectric source of power.” For such vehicles it imposes an additional $100 yearly registration fee.
Big Brother The Rand Corporation has published a “primer” titled “Mileage-Based User Fees For Transportation Funding,” which lays out a strong case for a milesdriven-based tax on all drivers. An example implementation would be to require installing a device on a vehicle’s on-board diagnostics port (OBD-II) and transmit data over a cellular data connection. The organization proposes a laundry list of potential benefits, including: • Reducing traffic congestion by varying the per-mile tax on the time of day • Reducing pollution, by making more-polluting vehicles pay a higher per-mile tax • Pay-as-you-drive automobile insurance • Automated toll collection on bridges or toll roads • Internet connectivity as a side benefit for vehicle passengers • Improved vehicle safety, if implemented along with connected vehicle systems currently being developed The Rand Corporation admits to triggering fears of “Big Brother” knowing exactly when and where people drive, and at what speed. However, whether a per-mile tax raises privacy issues depends on the implementation, and the report notes four methods to mitigate those concerns:
1. Measure miles traveled without recording the location. 2. Use a trusted third party to securely protect private data. 3. Design the technology with built-in privacy safeguards. 4. Establish privacy legislation that clearly distinguishes between permissible and impermissible uses of personal travel data. The paper goes on to note that privacy concerns - “The government is tracking where I drive, and I don’t like it” - are the biggest barrier to adoption of mileage-based vehicle taxes. It recommends the following implementation steps, with an eye to mitigating those concerns: 1. Conduct trials and educational outreach, and include government officials in those trials. 2. Enroll privacy watchdogs and other stakeholders in the planning. 3. Begin with a simple odometer-based system rather than jump directly to the GPS based monitoring over cellular data systems. 4. Provide drivers with a choice of systems to measure miles driven. 5. Focus initially on alternatively fueled vehicles. 6. Provide an option for a flat fee rather than one based on miles driven.
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JUNE 2013 87
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CHARGING FORWARD
takes a peek inside
NISSAN’S US
BATTERY OPERATION Now, y’all might not think of Nashville as an EV hot spot. The stars of country radio aren’t likely to start singing about electric pickup trucks any time soon (Brad Paisley just might), and the vast suburban sprawl that surrounds Tennessee’s capital is no New Urban cityscape. Well, go plug in the pickup truck, paw, because Music City recently joined Detroit and Silicon Valley as EV manufacturing centers, when Nissan began producing the LEAF, as well as its electric motors and batteries, in the region. Nissan began building cars in the Nashville area in 1983, and moved its North American headquarters to Franklin in 2005. Today the assembly plant in Smyrna has an annual capacity of 550,000 vehicles, and the powertrain plant in Decherd makes the engines for all US-produced Nissan and Infiniti models. The new battery plant, adjacent to the Smyrna vehicle assembly plant, began production in October 2012. It’s the largest lithium-ion battery plant in the US, with around 250 employees and a potential capacity of 200,000 battery packs a year. Nissan invested $1.7 billion in the battery plant and retooling the auto assembly plant (partially financed by a $1.4-billion loan from the DOE). Building LEAFs here in the US lets Nissan save on shipping costs and avoid exposure to swings in currency exchange rates. For similar reasons, the company will soon be producing Europe-bound LEAFs at its Sunderland, UK plant. Every automaker has a different approach to designing and producing its batteries, but the wisdom of maintaining strict control over the process is clear. Minor defects or delays can lead to disaster, as illustrated by the tragedy of Fisker and A123. Nissan is the most EV-savvy of the major automakers, and the only one that makes its batteries in-house from start to finish (other EV builders assemble packs in the US from cells manufactured by third-party suppliers).
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Charged toured the new plant under tight supervision - some aspects of the process are top secret. The inner sanctum of this super-high-tech facility is a lowhumidity, dust-free clean room environment where robots reign, and the few human workers wear moon suits. The manufacturing process here is pretty much the same as at Nissan’s Zama plant in Japan. It’s complex, requiring many steps and a lot of time - it takes about 30 days to build a LEAF - and tolerances are extremely precise. Anode, cathode and separator materials arrive at the plant as huge rolls, and are cut to letter-size sheets and arranged in alternating layers. Once the lasagna-like stack is complete, metal connector tabs are welded on, and the whole is wrapped, evacuated of air and sealed. Next, the liquid electrolyte is injected into the cell, filling the spaces between layers like the tomato sauce in our lasagna. The cells are aged to let the chemistry do its thing, then cut open to release gases that have formed, and permanently resealed. Each cell must be activated by a lengthy process of charging and discharging at gradually increasing levels. Rigorous testing at every step is necessary. The cells are stacked in fours and placed in a metal case to form a module, about the size of a notebook. 48 of these are assembled into a stack, like books in a bookcase, to form a completed battery, which goes next door to be fitted under the floorboard of a new LEAF.
Photo courtesy of Nissan
By Charlie Morris
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