Posts Tagged ‘electric cars’
Friday, January 6th, 2012
 Auto execs think it will be a decade before electric cars reach 15 percent of annual global sales Despite continued heavy investment by auto makers in electric propulsion technologies, global automotive executives don’t expect e-car sales to exceed 15 percent of annual global auto sales before 2025, according to the 13th annual global automotive survey conducted by KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax, and advisory firm.
In polling 200 C-level executives in the global automotive industry for the 2012 automotive survey, KPMG found that nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of executives don’t expect electrified vehicles (meaning all e-vehicles, from full hybrids to FCEVs) to exceed 15 percent of global annual auto sales before 2025.
Executives in the U.S. and Western Europe expect even less adoption, projecting e-vehicles will only account for 6-10 percent of global annual auto sales.
“Electric vehicles are still in their infancy, and while we’ve seen some recent model introductions, consumer demand has so far been modest,” said Gary Silberg, National Automotive Industry leader for KPMG LLP. “While we can expect no more than modest demand in the foreseeable future, we can also expect OEMs to intensify investment, fully appreciating what is at stake in a very competitive industry.”
Automakers Inject Investments into Range of Electric Technologies
Despite the relatively modest sales projections for electric vehicles over the next 15 years, automotive executives in the KPMG survey indicate that a wide range of electric technologies will be an increased focus of their investment matrix. In fact, over the next two years:
83 percent say automakers will increase investment in e-motor production,
81 percent say investment in battery (pack/cell) technology will rise,
76 percent expect increased investment in power electronics for e-cars, and,
65 percent predict increased investment in fuel cell (hydrogen) technology.
Additionally, executives expect that hybrid fuel systems, battery electric power and fuel cell electric power will be the alternative propulsion technologies to attract the most auto industry investment over the next five years.
Placing Bets ‘Across the Board
“What’s interesting is that automakers are placing bets across the board, and large bets at that, because no one knows which technology will ultimately win the day with consumers,” added Silberg.
“In last year’s KPMG survey, execs told us it would be more than five years before the industry is able to offer an electric vehicle that is as affordable as traditional fuel vehicles for mainstream buyers. It will be interesting to see how consumer adoption progresses as automakers discover ways to offer these electrified cars at better price points and the infrastructure for these vehicles becomes more robust and accommodating,” he said.
However, despite all the investment and energy being focused on electric platforms, nearly two-thirds (61 percent) of executives say the optimization (so-called downsizing) of internal combustion engines (ICE) still offers greater efficiency and CO2 reduction potential than any electric vehicle technology based on the current energy mix.
No Clear Electrified Propulsion Winner Yet
When asked to name the electrified propulsion technology that will attract the most consumer demand until 2025, auto executives were as mixed as their projected investments. In fact, the variation in response rates between fuel cell electric vehicles (20 percent), battery electrified vehicles (16 percent), full hybrids (22 percent), plug-in hybrids (21 percent), and battery electrified vehicles with range extender (18 percent) was ever so slight.
According to KPMG’s Silberg, “The industry faces a tough decision about whether to place more trust and resources in fuel cell or battery vehicle concepts, and these results show that it’s way too early to call right now. Clearly hybrids, whether plug-in or full, are more mature and have more market presence, but this battle for the dominant technology platform will continue for years to come.”
Tags: electric cars, Gary Silberg, investments in electric cars, KPMG
Posted in Energy, Studies, surveys, reports | 2 Comments »
Friday, November 18th, 2011
 Harold Kung Imagine a cellphone battery that stayed charged for more than a week and recharged in just 15 minutes. That dream battery could be closer to reality thanks to Northwestern University research.
A team of engineers has created an electrode for lithium-ion batteries — rechargeable batteries such as those found in cellphones and iPods — that allows the batteries to hold a charge up to 10 times greater than current technology. Batteries with the new electrode also can charge 10 times faster than current batteries.
The researchers combined two chemical engineering approaches to address two major battery limitations — energy capacity and charge rate — in one fell swoop. In addition to better batteries for cellphones and iPods, the technology could pave the way for more efficient, smaller batteries for electric cars.
The technology could be seen in the marketplace in the next three to five years, the researchers said.
A paper describing the research is published by the journal Advanced Energy Materials.
“We have found a way to extend a new lithium-ion battery’s charge life by 10 times,” said Harold H. Kung, lead author of the paper. “Even after 150 charges, which would be one year or more of operation, the battery is still five times more effective than lithium-ion batteries on the market today.”
Kung is professor of chemical and biological engineering in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. He also is a Dorothy Ann and Clarence L. Ver Steeg Distinguished Research Fellow.
How Lithium-ion batteries work
Lithium-ion batteries charge through a chemical reaction in which lithium ions are sent between two ends of the battery, the anode and the cathode. As energy in the battery is used, the lithium ions travel from the anode, through the electrolyte, and to the cathode; as the battery is recharged, they travel in the reverse direction.
With current technology, the performance of a lithium-ion battery is limited in two ways. Its energy capacity — how long a battery can maintain its charge — is limited by the charge density, or how many lithium ions can be packed into the anode or cathode. Meanwhile, a battery’s charge rate — the speed at which it recharges — is limited by another factor: the speed at which the lithium ions can make their way from the electrolyte into the anode.
In current rechargeable batteries, the anode — made of layer upon layer of carbon-based graphene sheets — can only accommodate one lithium atom for every six carbon atoms.
To increase energy capacity, scientists have previously experimented with replacing the carbon with silicon, as silicon can accommodate much more lithium: four lithium atoms for every silicon atom. However, silicon expands and contracts dramatically in the charging process, causing fragmentation and losing its charge capacity rapidly.
Currently, the speed of a battery’s charge rate is hindered by the shape of the graphene sheets: they are extremely thin — just one carbon atom thick — but by comparison, very long. During the charging process, a lithium ion must travel all the way to the outer edges of the graphene sheet before entering and coming to rest between the sheets. And because it takes so long for lithium to travel to the middle of the graphene sheet, a sort of ionic traffic jam occurs around the edges of the material.
The best of both worlds
Now, Kung’s research team has combined two techniques to combat both these problems. First, to stabilize the silicon in order to maintain maximum charge capacity, they sandwiched clusters of silicon between the graphene sheets. This allowed for a greater number of lithium atoms in the electrode while utilizing the flexibility of graphene sheets to accommodate the volume changes of silicon during use.
“Now we almost have the best of both worlds,” Kung said. “We have much higher energy density because of the silicon, and the sandwiching reduces the capacity loss caused by the silicon expanding and contracting. Even if the silicon clusters break up, the silicon won’t be lost.”
Kung’s team also used a chemical oxidation process to create miniscule holes (10 to 20 nanometers) in the graphene sheets — termed “in-plane defects” — so the lithium ions would have a “shortcut” into the anode and be stored there by reaction with silicon. This reduced the time it takes the battery to recharge by up to 10 times.
This research was all focused on the anode; next, the researchers will begin studying changes in the cathode that could further increase effectiveness of the batteries. They also will look into developing an electrolyte system that will allow the battery to automatically and reversibly shut off at high temperatures — a safety mechanism that could prove vital in electric car applications.
The Energy Frontier Research Center program of the U.S. Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences, supported the research.
Megan Fellman, science and engineering editor, and Sarah Ostman, content specialist at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, contributed to this story.
Tags: batteries charge 10 times faster, cellphone batteries that last a week, cellphones, electric cars, Harold H. Kung, iPods, new lithium-ion battery technology, Northwestern University
Posted in Energy, Hardware, University Tech | Comments Off
Tuesday, July 12th, 2011
 Elettrica, an electric car with lithium ion battery tech Simply “plugging in” one million electric cars could add $750 million in annual wholesale energy costs unless “smart charging” is adopted, according to a joint study conducted by PJM and Better Place, released by Better Place today.
Similarly, consumers who choose to leverage time-of-use pricing can see some price relief – less than 10 percent annually – however; the wholesale energy business would still feel the impact of ad hoc charging.
Conversely, “smart charging” one million electric cars via a central network operator can cut in half the increase in wholesale energy costs compared to simply plugging in or time-of-use pricing while reducing driving costs by one-fifth.
The joint study conducted by PJM and Better Place analyzed the impact of one million electric cars on the MidAtlantic States’ grid. The study modelled the market and pricing impact of one million electric cars and related charging infrastructure.
The greater Washington – Baltimore area was selected for modelling because it already experiences transmission congestion issues and is a targeted area for electric vehicle adoption.
“Because of the ad hoc nature and unpredictability of when each electric car would be plugged in, the extra $750 million in annual costs would be borne unequally by market participants and consumers,” said Hugh McDermott, Vice President of Utility and Smart Grid Alliances for Better Place.
“With smart charging, a central network operator is able to leverage dynamic wholesale energy prices to optimize the entire fleet’s charging at the lowest possible cost and impact to the grid and the consumer. Our customers and utility partners around the world stand to benefit from smart charging.”
Smart-charging possible via centrally dispatched grid
“Smart charging is possible when there’s real-time coordination through a centrally dispatched grid, which will facilitate prioritization and varying charging rates,” said Chantal Hendrzak, PJM’s General Manager Applied Solutions. “Flexible load benefits of EV charging are captured more easily by RTO, ISO and Utility operations through integration more directly into existing operations and practices.”
Sam Jaffe, Research Manager at IDC Energy Insights, commented: “Most electric vehicle drivers will want to be able to plug in according to their own needs, but unmanaged charging on a large scale will be costly for everyone—the driver, the utility and the grid operator. A centrally managed model can result in significant cost savings and improved grid stability, without impairing the fueling needs of the EV owners.”
“While many of the advantages of electrification of transport are well known, such as the diversity of domestically available fuels, price stability and spare capacity, the Better Place – PJM study reveals that managed charging can optimize the relationship between EVs and the grid, minimizing capital expenses and maximizing grid reliability,” said Robbie Diamond, President and CEO of the Electrification Coalition (EC). “The US should work to maximize these benefits to make EVs a true asset to our economic and national security.”
Full study
Tags: Baltimore, Better Place, DC, electric cars, energy costs, energy grid, IDC Energy Insights, PJM, Sam Jaffe, smart charging, study, wholesale energy costs
Posted in Energy, Maryland, Potomac, Studies, surveys, reports, Washington, DC | 2 Comments »
Friday, July 23rd, 2010
By Scott Faris
 Scott Faris, founder and CEO of Planar Energy, holds a cathode layer for an advanced energy cell created through the company’s breakthrough SPEED materials deposition process. ORLANDO, FL – With relentlessly gushing oil having spread into the Gulf of Mexico for months, public discourse has rightly ramped up about the need to reduce U.S. dependence on oil, and attention is increasingly being paid to the potential role that electric cars can play in solving related serious economic and security challenges.
While hybrid vehicles that have both gasoline and electric power engines, such as the Toyota Prius, have been available since 2001, fully electric vehicles are just reaching the market. For example, the Nissan Leaf is due out this year and the Chevy Volt is expected in 2011, with consumers already lined up to reserve these vehicles.
And in late June of this year, California-based Tesla Motors, which began making electric-powered roadsters in 2008 and has reportedly sold some 1,100 vehicles worldwide, issued an IPO that raised more than $24 million.
Viability of electric cars uncertain
However, the viability and likely market traction of plug-in electric cars is far from certain, as success in the electric-vehicle market is inextricably tied to the state of power storage; that is, the battery.
In some cases, batteries are projected to account for a third or more of a vehicle’s costs depending on government subsidies. The cost, for example, of the 16kWh-capacity battery pack, using traditional li-ion technology, planned for Chevrolet’s first generation “plug-in” hybrid-electric Volt, is estimated to be $10,000-$15,000, depending on which research report you read.
The overall base vehicle retail price is expected to be around $40,000, prior to a $7,500 federal tax credit, and will include an eight-year warranty to overcome the lack of consumer confidence in battery lifetime. For mass market electric vehicles to be profitable for the automobile industry, the battery cost needs to be less than $5,000 and the batteries need to work as promised in real world conditions for 10 years.
DOE report addresses battery shortcomings
Traditional li-ion battery technology has matured and faces drawbacks that prevent it from solving the cost, performance and safety obstacles to viable electric vehicles. Li-ion batteries have not proven “suitable or cost-effective for use in cars with plugs,” according to John Petersen, former director Axion Power International, citing a December 2008 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) report that addressed several li-ion shortcomings:
- Cost- The current cost of Li-based batteries is approximately a factor of two too high on a kW basis. The main cost drivers being addressed are the high cost of raw materials and materials processing, the cost of cell and module packaging, and manufacturing costs.
- Performance – The barriers related to battery performance include a loss in discharge power at low temperatures and power fade over time and/or when cycled.
The underlying problem facing the power-storage industry is that it’s been trying to make traditional liquid chemistry li-ion batteries scale to a size and performance threshold that does not make sense – from safety or economic perspectives. It is analogous to efforts to scale traditional glass-tube TV sets beyond the 30” screen.
The costly and rare raw materials that are required, along with expensive materials processing, make for steep barriers to overcome when it comes to powering electric vehicles. While li-ion batteries are adequate to deliver 70 Wh of energy that is standard for laptop computers, the technology fails to economically scale for producing the 15-20kWh battery that a typical plug-in electric vehicle requires for a 40-mile range.
Practical impact of this challenge
Liquid electrolyte li-ion technology presents safety issues, too. Because traditional li-ion batteries require liquid electrolytes, each cell is essentially a chemical reactor that suffers from thermal, chemical and mechanical degradation each time the battery is charged and discharged.
The practical impact of this challenge has been seen in the many recalls of cell phone and laptop batteries that have caught on fire. Each automotive cell stores 10-20 times more energy than a laptop cell requiring dramatically more sophisticated electronics and packaging to make them safe. This adds further cost, weight and complexity to automotive batteries.
An unpublished DOE report prepared late in 2009 called the need for new advanced batteries “essential for the development of electric drive, high-efficiency, light-duty, and heavy-duty vehicles,” and the energy department has been proactive with grants and technical support to encourage innovation in the area.
In Part II of this series, I will examine the DOE’s efforts and some of the most promising technologies on the horizon.
Scott Faris is founder and CEO of Orlando-based Planar Energy, the developer of large-format, solid-state, high-performance and low-cost batteries.
Tags: battery technology, electric cars, FL, Gulf oil disaster, New battery tech is vital, Orlando, Planar Energy, Viewpoint
Posted in Energy, Florida, Hardware | 1 Comment »
Friday, July 2nd, 2010
 CT&T Electric cars SPARTANBURG, SC – Seoul, Korea-based CT&T Ltd., and Spartanburg’s 2AM Group are teaming to assemble low-speed electric cars in Duncan, SC, creting 400 jobs.
The new operation will produce up to 10,000 cars slightly larger than golf carts that will sell for about $13,000.
Lead-acid battery models can trave 44 miles between charges.
The cars are legally limited to 25 mph and can only be operated on up to two miles on secondary roads in SC.
The company’s have expansion plans and hope states will change limits on where the cars can be used.
Tags: 2AM Group, CT&T, electric cars, Energy, jobs, Korea, SC, Spartanburg
Posted in Carolinas, Economic Development, Energy, Hardware, South Carolina | Comments Off
Thursday, May 6th, 2010
 NEW YORK – Clean tech grabbed $773.3 million from venture capitalists in the first quarter of 2010, soaring 68 percent from the same period last year, according to Dow Jones VentureSource.
Clean tech firms did twice as many deals-72-in the quarter as last year.
The recovery for the sector is leading venture capital overall, which grew only 11 percent over last year’s numbers.
The largest number of clean tech deals were in seed and early stage companies, which accounted for 34 transactions and 49 percent of the total, marking the highest percentage since Q4 2008.
The energy efficiency subsector, which includes numerous Southeast and Mid-Atlantic players, accounted for 28 percent of the investments in 20 deals.
Electric vehicle tech also drew some investment money as did energy supply, both also seeing increases.
That should be good news for Atlanta’s Wheego Electric Cars Inc., which his filed it’s intent to raise $5 million with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company raised $1.2 million in August and released it’s two-seat Electric car the Whip last year.
Tags: Atlanta, clean tech, Dow Jones VentureSource, electric cars, Q1 2010, venture report, Wheego
Posted in Energy, Georgia, venture capital report | Comments Off
|
|
|
