There has been a lot of press and discussion about the Chevy Volt getting 230 mpg. This Edmunds blog takes a closer look. The true story appears to lie in the drive cycle. If trips are kept under 40 miles, the Volt does very well. If not, it appears that the Volt performs like a hybrid gasoline vehicle. Either way, a 230 mpg rating is likely misleading…..take a look for yourself:
Posted in Electric Vehilces
Honda, Daimler, Toyota, GM, and Hyundai are all betting that hydrogen fuel-cell cars will play a significant role in the zero-emissions transportation system of the future. Honda’s head of their fuel cell development group states that Honda is positioning fuel-cell cars as the “ultimate zero emission car”, a stance that contrasts the Obama administration’s push for battery vehicles. Alan Taub, the replacement for GM’s outgoing VP of research and development and champion of fuel-cell technology, Larry Burns, remains committed to bringing fuel-cells to production by about 2012.
In spite of the Obama Administration’s proposal to slash funding for hydrogen transportation projects, and the California state legislature’s effort a zero hydrogen funding for the FY 2009-10 budget, their is plenty of reason to remain optimistic that hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles will help us achieve our transportation emission reduction goals. For starters, the US Congress voted to restore hydrogen funds, and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger restored the states ability to continue to invest in hydrogen.
From a technical standpoint, Toyota’s Highlander Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle (FCHV-adv) recently achieved an estimated range of 431 miles on a single full tank of compressed hydrogen gas during a real-world driving test. According to the calculations run by the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) this range translates to an average of 68.3 miles/kg (the approximate mpg equivalent). For comparison, the 2009 Toyota Highlander Hybrid achieves an average fuel economy of 26 mpg. A 431 mile range, 68.3 mpg equivalent with quick refueling should meet everyone’s expectation for a fully a fully functional car.
On the infrastructure side, as California continues to move forward with it’s hydrogen fueling network, at least one country is actively working to expand its hydrogen fueling infrastructure. By 2015, Japan plans to extend its Hydrogen Highway to the entire country, starting with dozens of field trials. 2015 also marks the year that both Toyota and Honda expect to bring to market affordable, durable fuel cell vehicles.
Honda, Toyota, Daimler, GM and Hyundai all know that hydrogen fuel-cell cars have the ability to deliver the performance and versatility consumers desire. As a society, we just need to provide the platform for these eventual zero emissions cars to flourish.
Posted in Hydrogen
Who brought the electric car back to life? If one company has anything to say about it, its Nissan. Nissan-Renault recently released information about it brand new Leaf electric car: its 100 percent electric, drives like a V6, seats 5, has 5 doors, and is expected to be competitively priced. Best of all, if it is fueled by electricity generated from renewable sources, driving the Leaf will produce zero emissions.
The Leaf has been developed as part of Nissan’s Green Program 2010 through which the company is aiming to become a “sincere eco-innovator”. Currently, Nissan’s Green Program focuses primarily on achieving C02 emissions reductions through improving their internal combustion engines, introducing hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles, and bringing zero-emission electric and fuel cell vehicles to the market.
While the Nissan’s Leaf, Altima hybrid and fuel cell research program show the potential for advanced vehicle deployment, we desperately need to develop the infrastructure to support them.
Nissan’s predicted 2050 powertrain penetration helps illustrate the problem we are facing: they predict that in 40 years, the internal combustion engine (ICE) will continue to capture the biggest market share when compared to the zero-emissions and hybrid platforms. Expected infrastructure limitations likely drive this calculation.
Market scale zero-emissions vehicles are the future, but to get there, we need to continually invest in the infrastructure necessary to support them. On August 5th, President Obama announced the awarding of $2.4 billion dollars in Recovery Act grants to “Accelerate the Manufacturing and Deployment of the Next Generation of U.S. Batties and Electric Vehicles”. However, only 5 percent of that money is for the infrastructure necessary to support these vehicles.
Fortunately for Nissan, the largest infrastructure grant was awarded to help Electric Transportation Engineering Corp. and Nissan develop 12,750 charging stations. However, Southern California Edison (SCE), a utility that played a huge role in deploying the electric vehicles in the 1990s (see Who Killed the Electric Car), was not awarded any funding to update its charging stations.
Ed Kjaer, director of electric transportation for SCE sums up the infrastructure worries in an August 6th Wall Street Journal Article “…we need to get the markets ready for [electric] cars by creating the infrastructure. Its not ready now and its a big concern.”
While this round of Recovery Act grant funding does not tell the entire story (more investment is expected), we need to remember some key points on the road as consider how to best spend our public money:
The August 5th round of Recovery Act funding will no doubt lead to innovations in battery performance and use. However, without the infrastructure to support these gains and entice consumers to replace their ICEs with electric vehicles, we cannot expect to benefit on the scale necessary to meet our needed emissions reductions targets. In short, we need to invest in both the chicken and the egg, and we need to continue to invest in a big way.
*Nissan is not the only company venturing into the full battery-electric vehicle arena: for example, Tesla Motors sold a record 109 vehicles in July; Mitsubishi’s iMEV is being sold to corporate and government fleets in Japan; Subaru’s Stella all electric car was expected to be delivered to its first Japanese customers in July; the Mini E is currently being driven in test markets; and Toyota recently unveiled it concept battery electric FT-EV car. The Chevy Volt, which will sport a gasoline engine range extender, can be a zero emissions car if driven within its 40-mile all electric range.
Posted in Electric Vehilces
The recent 2009 Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Statewide Survey: Californian’s and the Environment, shows that Californian’s are increasingly interested in expanding public transit. Three in four residents (77%) now say that the state transportation funding should focus on public transit, up 10 points from August 2004. On the other end, only 18% say that the state should focus on expanding our freeways and highways.
What does this mean? Californians, across political affiliations, want access to transportation alternatives. The public’s desire lines up with on of the key strategies outlined in California’s December 2008 Climate Change Scoping Plan (written pursuant to AB 32): reducing emissions from passenger vehicles. As the the American Public Transportation Association calculates, each individual who switches a 20-mile round-trip commute to public transportation saves approximately 4,800 pounds of CO2 emissions per year, equal to a 10 percent reduction in a two-car household’s carbon footprint.
Making public transportation convenient to more people is a critical step towards our energy independence, climate change, and public health goals. Mass transit is both in our public interest and in the public’s interest. Let’s not let our decision makers forget.
Posted in Public Transit
If you have been paying attention to it, government Hydrogen funding programs have come under political fire on both the national and California stages. At this point, it appears fairly certain that hydrogen funding will not be cut in FY 2010. However, as evidenced by the events highlighted below, public stakeholders need to remain engaged to ensure that we continue to make progress towards a zero-emissions energy and transportation economy. Here is a brief history of the hydrogen funding squabbles so far:
Federal Funding:
• May 7, 2009: DOE Secretary Steven Chu proposes a $100 million cut in the hydrogen program in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), leaving $68 million for fuel cell research and development for FY 2010.
• July 17, 2009. The US House of Representatives passes their Energy and Water Appropriations Bill for FY 2010 (H.Res. 645) by a vote of 320-97. The bill contains $153 million for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies for the EERE program.
• July 29, 2009: The U.S. Senate passes their Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill (S. 1436) by a vote of 85-9. This bill calls for $190 million for EERE’s Hydrogen program.
• August, 2009, tentative: The Senate and House Energy and Water appropriation bill versions will be sent to a Senate/House conference committee to determine how to merge them into one bill. Regardless, it looks like Congress’ appropriations budget will continue to fund hydrogen
California State Funding:
• April 23, 2009: The California Energy Commission adoptes the state’s first Investment Plan For The Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, developed under Assembly Bill 118. The plan includes stakeholder input from a wide range of interests and is designed to establish priorities and opportunities for the program. It calls for $40 million investments in hydrogen fueling infrastructure in both FY 2008-09 and FY 2009-10.
• May 6, 2009: Assembly Budget Subcommittee Number 3 gave the first indication that hydrogen funding may not be safe in California. Its staff recommended restricting CEC hydrogen funding under AB 118 to $6 million per year ($34 million less than recommended by the AB 118 Investment Plan). This item was heard on May 13, 2009.
• July 23rd, 2009: The California State Legislature passes the AB 1 (4X) budget amendment. One of the budget amendments states that the State “shall not make any expenditures from this appropriation for hydrogen refueling stations in the 2009-10 fiscal year”.
• July 28th, 2009: Governor Schwarzenegger signs AB 1 after deleting the provision that would have prevented spending on hydrogen refueling stations. The Governor states that innovative technologies (e.g. hydrogen) that transform California’s fuel and vehicle types are needed to help attain the state’s climate change policies. The Energy Commission thus maintains authority to fund hydrogen infrastructure development.
We have a tremendous amount of ground to cover, and air to clean, in our transition to a zero-emissions transportation economy. Thus far, only hydrogen and battery-electric cars offer truly zero-emissions transportation potential. These technologies are unlikely to succeed in the timeframes we need without public investment. Even in these tough financial times, we need to keep our eyes on the prize: zero emissions transportation fueled by 100-percent-renewable, homegrown energy.
~Tyson Eckerle
Posted in Hydrogen
