etic 2001 wednesday, december 12, 2001 · today’s high-sounding talk of a cleaner and more ......

ETIC 2001 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2001

Let the ETIC 2001 Show Begin

Sacramento, Here We Come!AC Propulsion’s battery electricToyota RAV4-EV made it fromSouthern California to ETIC2001 without stopping to charge.The trailer has a Kawasaki-engined generator designed byAC Propulsion, effectivelymaking it a hybrid electricvehicle. A Volkswagen Beetlewith AC’s new Gen II AC-150drivetrain was similarly driven tothe show.

AC electronic componentsand a Volkswagen engine will beincorporated into a VolkswagenJetta sedan as part of a CaliforniaAir Resources Board-backedproject. The resulting hybrid willhave an all-electric zero-emis-sion mode. It will also be capableof running on low pressure, pipe-fed natural gas when parked, andsupplying power from vehicle-to-grid (V2G).—More on 1

The Electric Transportation Industry Conference gotunderway in earnest yesterday evening at a reception inthe exhibit hall here.

ChevronTexaco, here in Sacramento with an ETIC2001 exhibit encompassing technology partner ECD-Ovonic, sponsored the reception.

ETIC 2001 is expected to be the largest display ofelectric vehicle technologies ever in the U.S. There are62 exhibiting companies.

“In July we increased the exhibition hall in theSacramento Convention Center to 20,000 square feet in

order to accommodate the significant demand for spacefrom EV industry suppliers,” said Kateri Callahan, exec-utive director of the Washington, DC-based ElectricVehicle Association of the Americas.

“The ETI Conference exhibition reflects the expan-sion and continuing growth of the electric transportationtechnology industry,” said Mike McCabe of the FordTh!nk Group. “There is no other fuel cell, hybrid andbattery electric vehicle conference that is as encom-passing, exciting and educational as the ETI Conference.”McCabe chairs the EVAA conference committee.

Honda’s Civic HybridHonda reveals how it’s boosting regenera-tive effect by tweaking engine valvefunction in its new four-seat hybrid vehicle.

—More on Page 5

Enter the NatriumDaimlerChrysler will unveil its newNatrium fuel cell vehicle here at 10:00 thismorning.

The EC ActsEuropeans draft ambitious agenda for ahydrogen future, targeting millions of vehi-cles over the coming decades. EC commitsto buying dozens of DaimlerChrysler fuelcell buses for two-year trials in ten cities.

—More on Page 8

The Momentumis Building‘The technology is getting closer,’ Ballardchief Firoz Rasul says of fuel cells, andmore people are committing to it.

—More on Page 9

Conference

Some of the EVAA board and staff reveling at the ETIC 2001 reception Tuesday evening: Ed Kjaer, Ray Geddes, RobertBienenfeld, Gail Hendrickson, John Wallace, Don Francis, Frank Ingriselli, Kateri Callahan, Mike McCabe, Ed LaRocque.

©2001 Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. Buckle Up! Do it for those who love you.

TO SEE WHAT THE RAV4 EV AND PRIUS ARE TRYING TO DO FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, LIFT HERE.

Dear ETI Conference Del-egates and Exhibitors:

On behalf of the members ofthe EVAA, your conference hosts,I extend a hearty “Welcome!” andI thank you for choosing to join usfor this important event.

We are pleased and veryexcited about this year’s confer-ence; it is a “first” for ourorganization in that the confer-ence proceedings, exhibition halland “Ride’n’Drive” now encom-passes all modes of electrictransportation from commerciallyavailable battery and hybrid elec-tric vehicles to the fuel cellelectric vehicles of tomorrow.The large number and diversity ofproducts on display and availableto you for this Friday evidencesthe tremendous growth of the

movement towards modes of per-sonal transportation that can freeus from reliance on insecure andfinite supplies of foreign oil.

In so many important respects,the location of this conferenceserves to underscore the vitalneed of this country to findcleaner, more abundant and moresecure fuels for our transportationnetwork. California stands as themost populous state in theNation, represents the largestautomotive market, and con-sumes more petroleum than anyother state. California also strug-gles to meet federal air qualitystandards and cannot do sowithout a paradigm shift in theway that people and goods aremoved throughout the state.California state officials recognizethe connection between airquality and transportation andhave helped to spur the transition

to use of electric drive technologies. And,policy makers in this state, as elsewherearound the country and in our Nation’sCapitol are waking up to the potentiallydire consequences of continuing to rely onpetroleum to move people and goods.

For an economy so dependent upontransportation, the fact that more thanone-half of the oil we consume isimported, much of it from that part of theworld where we are now engaged in war,ought to be truly alarming. Staying on thisdangerous course will result in the importof more than 60 percent of the oil we willneed in less than twenty years. We musttransition the country’s biggest consumerof foreign oil – the transportation sector –to other fuels. Electricity is an attractive,abundant and domestically-available fuelthat is itself generated from a variety ofU.S. resources. If we are looking, as Ibelieve we must, to lessen our dependencyon foreign oil then we need to look towardelectricity.

No one ever assumed that transitioningaway from oil and to the next generation ofpersonal and mass transportation would beeasy. But, the promise of electric trans-portation, using domestic energyresources, yielding greater distances perunit of energy used and emitting far less orzero emissions, is worthy of a national andinternational commitment. Your atten-dance at the conference is evidence thatwe’ll succeed together in this transforma-tion effort.

Happy holidays and, again, thank youfor your attendance.

Eugene Zeltmann is chairman of theNew York Power Authority.

Today’s high-sounding talk of a cleaner and moreef ficient transpor tation future will come tonaught without a stronger commitment to educa-tion, says Dan Sperling, director of the Instituteof Transportation Studies at the University ofCalifornia at nearby Davis.

“Without a stronger commitment today to edu-cation in the area of clean transpor tationsystems and vehicle technologies there will be ashortage of leaders and engineers to guide tech-

nology and policy development tomorrow,”Sperling says.

“We talk about the next generation of vehi-cles, but who is going to build and design them?”

“There’s a real concern,” Sperling warns, “thatuniversities are neither creating a knowledgebase in fuel cell and clean-vehicle science andengineering, nor training engineers and policymakers who can encourage and guide the wisedevelopment of the clean-vehicle industry.”

Congress has actually stoppedfunding the Energy Department’s GATE(for Graduate Automotive TechnologyEducation) program that was estab-lished in 1998 for advanced technologyvehicle development, ITS says.

UC Davis graduates the most stu-dents in the field, but the numbers arefew. This year, approximately 50 grad-uate students are working in a variety ofinterdisciplinary transportation fieldsthere, and about 20 undergraduatesbecome directly involved in theseresearch projects as well.

Sperling will make his case at a pressbriefing here today.

December 12, 2001 Convention & Tradeshow News 3

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ITS director Dan Sperling asks, ‘Who will design the clean cars?’

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Walk the Walk, Says Sperling of ITS

EVAA co-chair & NYPA president Zeltmann.

Eugene Zeltmann, co-chairman of the ElectricVehicle Association of the Americas, welcomesthe delegates to the Electric TransportationIndustry Conference.

Delegates Welcomed to ETIC,Preeminent EV Industry Event

December 12, 2001 Convention & Tradeshow News4

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EPRI, still widely known as the Electric PowerResearch Institute, is promoting plug-in hybridEVs as a viable means of cutting oil use andreducing pollution.

Studies show that consumers like the idea of anHEV with an all-electric, zero emission mode,EPRI says, conceding that automakers are reluc-tant to commit to the technology.

Only one has: France’s Renault, which islaunching a plug-in HEV called the Kangoo.

“Phase I told us plug-ins could work,” EPRItransportation manager Bob Graham says inreference to an EPRI effort completed earlierthis year.

The study found that a mid-size plug-in HEVwith a 60-mile all-electric range, fully chargedevery night, could decrease energy use, and smog-forming and carbon dioxide emissions, by half.

Such a vehicle could reduce petroleum con-sumption by more than 75%, Graham says, whencompared to an internal combustion enginevehicle meeting California’s SULEV standard.

EPRI will focus on determining which plug-inhybrid electric vehicle configurations and tech-nologies generate the maximum market interest.

“We believe this additional data from Phase IIwill answer any concerns that automakers mayhave,” says Graham. “We know plug-in hybridsoffer the best near-term solution to meet our envi-ronmental and health goals, and we think the nextphase will show us a pathway to meet those goalsat an acceptable cost.”

It’s not true that hybrids are too expensivefor the mass market, says Toyota engineerand managing director Hiroyuki Watanabe.

“If we look at the entire Prius model cycle,it is profitable,” Watanabe told ShowTimes.

“We produce more than 3,000 Priuses permonth,” he says. “The new Prius showedthat we could reduce costs even faster thanwe originally thought.

“The new Prius contributes significantly toour corporate profits.”

Plugging Plug-Ins:EPRI Pushes Ahead

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Visit With Us At

EVAA Boo th 314

Honda’s big splash at ETIC 2001 is the gasoline-fueled but electrically assisted Civic Hybrid,which is being given its first public airing in theU.S. and is indeed available for the ride-and-drive here.

The vehicle follows on the heels of Honda’sInsight, a two-seat hybrid, approximately 8,500of which have been sold.

Honda has improved the IMA (for IntegratedMotor Assist) system on the new hybrid,resulting in greater availability of power gleanedfrom the vehicle’s regenerative braking, saysHonda advanced technology vehicles specialistSteve Ellis.

When the vehicle slows, the new IMA’scylinder idling feature kicks in, closing the valvesof three of the engine’s four cylinders. Thatreduces the engine’s braking power, makingmore power available for the regen system.

The Civic hybrid will have a 1.3-liter enginebut will have the performance of a normal Civic

with a 1.7-liter engine.As on the two-seatInsight, power is storedin a nickel metalhydride battery pack.

The Civic Hybridwill be available with astandard transmissionor with automatic CVT, for continuously vari-able transmission.

Honda is targeting aretail sales price ofabout $20,000 for the new five-seat hybrid,which is to be available next year.

Honda is showing two fuel cell vehicles here,both based on the discontinued EV Plus, a bat-tery EV. The FCX-V3 has a Honda-developedfuel cell while the FCX-V4 has a fuel cell fromCanada’s Ballard Power Systems, with what Elliscalls improved component “packaging.”

Honda has made no disclosures as to how itwill meet the California’s zero emission vehiclessales mandate for model year 2003, other than tonote that its Civic GX, a dedicated compressednatural gas-fueled vehicle, is the first to qualifyfor partial ZEV credits as an ATP, or advancedTechnology Product car, and will thus contributeto Honda’s mandate obligations.

Honda’s Insight hybrid, under-the hood... Next year there’ll be a four-seat Civic.

Cylinders on Honda’s New Civic HybridShut Down to Improve Its Regen Power


New, Fluid Hydrogen CarrierEatontown, NJ-based Millennium Cell (Booth 419) is pro-moting “Hydrogen On Demand” as a new way of providingthe elemental fuel for fuel cells — or internal combustionengines. The process storeshydrogen in a solution ofsodium borohydride, describedas “a benign, non-flammablesolution that combusts onlywhen exposed to a patented cat-alyst” — likewise developed by Millennium Cell. Thewater-based solution is said to generate the same amount ofenergy per gallon as gasoline. Millennium Cell has alreadydisclosed development deals with Ford and Peugeot, thelatter to apply to a prototype fuel cell taxi. “We believe ourHydrogen on Demand fuel system provides important rangeextending technology in a very compact package that noother hydrogen storage alternative can provide,” says trans-portation business development VP Rex Luzader. SteveTang is Millennium Cell CEO.

Bigger Digs for Solectria Solectria (Booth 122) has relocated from Wilmington, MAto a new facility in nearby Woburn. The 75,000-square-footfacility more than triples the company’s workspace, whileaffording better electrical service and shipping facilities.

Solectria Corporation9 Forbes Road

Woburn, MA 01801 USA781-932-9009; fax 781-932-9219

‘Accurate & Unbiased’ InfoThe U.S. Energy Department of Energy’s Field OperationsProgram (Idaho Falls, ID and Golden, CO; Booth 417 here)is promoting evaluation services of advanced technologyvehicles for fleet managers and other potential users, prom-ising “accurate and unbiased information on vehicleperformance.” ATVs are subjected to baseline, acceleratedreliability and fleet testing, with results made available onthe web and in the form of vehicle fact sheets, summaryreports, and survey results. More than 200 light-duty ATVs,including neighborhood, hybrid and hydrogen vehicles, arebeing evaluated during this fiscal year, DoE says.

Connecticut’s UTC Fuel CellsUnited Technologies Corp last week rechristened its fuelcells unit, and now calls the South Windsor, CT-based oper-ation UTC Fuel Cells. The company, formerly known asInternational Fuel Cells, claims to have been the first tocommercialize fuel cells for stationary applications. It hasvehicle projects and partnerships with organizationsincluding Hyundai (for the Santa Fe SUV), Thor Industries(for a developmental El Dorado Bus), and Shell Hydrogen(for hydrogen generation).

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S N A P S H O T SS N A P S H O T S

Mid-Del Technology Center offers arange of EV training services, boastinga fast-developing new specialty in air-port ground support equipmenttechnician training as airport GSE fastemerges as a major – and commerciallyviable – EV market sector.

The Oklahoma City organizationrecently took delivery of a 66-pas-senger Blue Bird school bus with a220-kilowatt AC induction drive,

regenerative braking, and sealed leadacid batteries with thermal manage-ment and onboard charger.

The bus will be used both fortraining and for transporting students.

Mid-Del’s Electric Center ofTechnology is said to be the onlyAutomotive Service Excellence-certi-fied EV training facility in the U.S.

Mid-Del is developing a techniciancourse for fuel cell vehicles, too.

Mid-Del Targets Training Mart

There’s a move afoot to amend 1992’sNational Energy Policy Act to allowneighborhood EVs to receive credit asalternative fuel vehicles.

EPAct rules require federal andgovernment fleet operators to buyincreasing numbers of AFVs.

“When EPAct was passed in 1992,NEVs didn’t meet the definition ofautomobile,” explains Jim Francfort,technical program manager of theU.S. Department of Energy’s FieldOperations Program. But times are a-changing.

Manufacturers also are encouragingthe California Air Resources Board toprovide incentive money for NEVs.

While neither scenario currentlyexists, NEVs are closer to meeting cri-teria for EPAct credit or CARBincentive money if they participate inthe Field Operations Program’s per-formance testing program. Now calledNEV America, (formerly EVAmerica) the program’s purpose is toensure a baseline standard for per-formance, to avoid the “buyer beware”problems that can occur in youngtechnology industries.

Phoenix-based Electric Trans-por-tation Applications conducts the testsunder contract with DoE.

The NEV class of vehicles requiresdifferent tests than those used for full-function EVs, Francfort says. Full-function EVs met performance goalsat constant speeds of 45 m.p.h., 60m.p.h. and on a dynamometer drivecycle. NEVs are tested at a constantspeed of 25 m.p.h. The program alsois developing test procedures forurban electrics.

Eleven NEVs made by four manu-facturers will be tested in comingweeks, Francfort says.

“The manufacturers who havechosen to do testing are doing so todemonstrate – by a third party – theirvehicle performance and capabili-ties,” he says.

While that doesn’t ensure they’llqualify for EPAct credit or CARBincentive funds, previous experienceshows that this procedure helps pavethe way. EV America testing was oneof several criteria that CARB and DoEused to determine full-function EVincentives.

NEVs Could SatisfyFleet AFV Buy Rules

Neighborhood Electric Vehicles on parade entering the exhibition hall here at ETIC.

Torrance, CA-based Enova Systems is forgingahead with a series of alliances with automakerson the sales end and experienced componentproducers on the supply end for the develop-ment and production of electric vehicledrivetrains.

“We’re a company that’s aggressively contin-uing in research and development into hybridand fuel cell vehicles,” says Enova president andCEO, Carl Dean Perry. Enova handles drive-trains for battery EVs too.

Enova drivetrains range from 10-kilowattunits for small vehicles to 240-kW drives forheavy vehicles.

The latest alliance iswith Ford’s Th!nkGroup, as Enova hasagreed to help developa high-power, high-voltage conversionmodule for a new Fordfuel cell vehicle.

Ford may also takeup to 4.6% of the out-standing Enova stock.

Enova designed thecontroller for theFord’s new Th!nk Citytoo, a battery EV thatwill be commerciallyavailable in the U.S.next year. It also sup-plied the drive for Hyundai’s award-winning fuelcell-powered Santa Fe, as well as developmentalhybrid versions of the Hyundai SUV.

In larger vehicles, Enova is working withIreland’s WrightBus, which is developing a low-floor hybrid electric bus with a fuel-firedCapstone turbine.

“The Enova strategy is to do all the design anddevelopment and low-rate production,” saysPerry. “We are outsourcing our high-volumemanufacturing.” Enova’s drivetrain component

manufacturing partners include QS-9000-certi-fied Hyundai Autonet, a unit of HyundaiElectronics, for the Th!nk City controller, andHyundai Heavy Industries (which also holdsQS-9000 certification) for electric Santa Fe SUVcomponentry.

Enova is working with British transmissionspecialist Ricardo on gear reduction units for the240-kW Wright buses.

Ed Moore is Enova sales VP. Dr. AbasGoodarzi is technology director.

Maxwell Technologies is givingETIC 2001 attendees a glimpseof its new TC2700 ultracapacitormodule at Booth 223.

“This new cell will be moregeared towards transportation,”says Maxwell applications engi-neer Bobby Maher.

The TC2700’s capacity is2,700 farads, Maher says, and assuch is an 8% improvement overthe PC2500s used in existing ver-sions of transit buses withGM-Allison hybrid drivetrains.

California’s Orange CountyTransportation Authority istesting 40-foot New Flyer buseswith a GM-Allison drivetrain andMaxwell’s PowerCache brandPC2500 ultracapacitors.

Ultracapacitors are said to bebetter than batteries for holdingthe regenerative brake-derivedpower that’s the key to a hybrid

vehicle’s efficiency. Lead acid bat-teries, though cheap to buy, don’tlast when used in hybrids. NewYork City Transit, which hascommitted to the purchase ofseveral hundred hybrid electricbuses with drivetrains from BAESystems, is working to evaluateMaxwell ultracapacitors in lieu oflead acid batteries in at least oneof original test vehicles.

Mass production on the orderof a million units should drop theprice of a TC2700 module toabout $30, or just a little morethan a penny a farad, says Maher.The PC2500s for the OCTAbuses cost about $175 apiece, andeach bus has 500, Maxwell saidearly this year.

Depending on size, power andcapabilities, a hybrid electricautomobile could have as few as20 ultracapacitor modules.

Ford is planning to offer a hybridelectric version of its Escape sportutility vehicle in 2003.

The vehicle will have a newtransaxle developed in league withVolvo and with Aichi, Japan-basedAisin AW. It’ll have a 2.3-liter,Atkinson-tuned engine yielding V-6-like performance.

Regenerative braking will affordcity mileage of nearly 40 miles pergallon, Ford says, promising range

in excess of 500 miles on a singletank of gasoline.

The Escape SUV will have a 65-kilowatt permanent magneticelectric motor and 28-kilowattgenerator, as well as a 300-volt,45-kilowatt, air-cooled nickel-metal hydride traction batterypack and controller, from Japan’sSanyo Electric.

That’s a model year 2002Escape SUV 4X4, shown above.

Carl Perry shows an Enova battery control unit to President Bush at a DoEmeeting earlier this year. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham (center) looks on.

Maxwell’s Showing the TC2700,A Better Ultracapacitor Module

Enova has designed hardware for battery, fuel celland hybrid electric versions of Hyundai’s Santa FeSUV, which is key to its commercialization plans.

C E N T E R S T A G E

Enova Systems Sets Strategic AlliancesCarl Dean PerryCEO & PresidentEnova Systems, Inc.


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Ford Plans 2003 Hybrid Escape SUV

The European Commission has drafted plansfor an ambitious transition to a zero emissionhydrogen economy, figuring to have hydrogenfuel 2% of all European vehicles by 2015 and in5% by 2020.

The idea is to use clean alternative fuel vehi-cles, including natural gas vehicles, as a bridgeto hydrogen. The NGVs will use natural gas

from conventional sources and from biomass. The EC is targeting 2% NGVs by 2010 and

5% by 2015, leading to 10% in 2020. Deserving no small credit for the policy is the

Amsterdam-based European Natural GasVehicle Association. ENGVA is headed by JeffSeisler, who also founded the Natural GasVehicle Coalition in Washington.

ENGVA embraced hydrogen, especially asderived from natural gas (the principal componentof which is methane, or CH4) as part of its charter atits annual meeting in Sweden earlier this year.

“We cannot, of course, claim responsibility forthe final development of this directive,” Seisler saidlast month. But the ENGVA chief, who has sharedviews with the EV industry at meetings including1998’s EVS-15 in Brussels, also said, “We feel thatour work over the past seven and a half years hascontributedsubstantially tomany of theconcepts andissues that haveappeared in thedirective, andthat now willbe debated bythe Commission, Parliament and EuropeanCouncil.”

“It’s going to take a lot of focused work on thepart of government and the other stakeholders tocreate the economic environment to make thetargets a reality,” Seisler said.


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The European Commission late last month madeformal its pending order for fuel cell buses to betested in various cities. 30 buses will be tested, ingroups of three, on regular routes under normaloperating conditions, for at least two years inAmsterdam, Madrid, Barcelona, Hamburg,Stuttgart, London, Luxembourg, Stockholm,Porto (Portugal), and Reykjavik (Iceland).

The EC is helping fund 27 of the buses(excluding Iceland) to the tune of approximately18 million euros, or about $16.1 million at currentrates of exchange.

The hydrogen-fueled ‘Citaro’ vehicles will besupplied by DaimlerChrysler subsidiary EvoBusGmbH.

They will have Ballard’s new Mark 902 fuel cellstacks packaged by Ballard subsidiary Xcellsis.

DaimlerChrysler has said that the fuel cellbuses are to be priced at 1.25 million eurosapiece, or about $1.1 million U.S.

Fuel cell Citaro deliveries are now scheduled tostart in early 2003.

8

Seisler: ENGVA advocates hydrogen.

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“The technology is getting closer,” says FirozRasul. “More people are recognizing its benefitsand are beginning to sign up.”

Rasul is chairman and CEO of Vancouver-based Ballard Power Systems (Booth 101 here)

and the technology, ofcourse, is the protonexchange membranefuel cell and its promiseof zero-emission trans-portation future.

Ballard, with thebacking of Daimler-Chrysler and Ford (and

a record of having sold fuel cells to GM, Honda,Nissan, Volkswagen, and others) has emerged asthe de facto industry leader.

“Our goal is to commercialize these technolo-gies and be a viable, profitable business,” Rasulsays. Ballard is banking on a sea change, on the

automotive industry’s movingaway from the internal combus-tion engine that, after decades oftrial and error, emerged as thedominant replacement for thehorse some 80 years ago.

Rasul points to the example ofthe jet engine, which he says took15 to 17 years after its 1950sintroduction to claim 80% of themarket. A new fuel infrastructurewas necessary, as is the case withfuel cells, and so were changes tothe design and structure of air-craft, a situation that roughlyparallels that of ground vehicles today.

Ballard has meanwhile gotten a new infusionof money from its OEM partners, with Fordplacing an order for $49.3 million worth of fuelcell engines and related engineering and supportservices, and DaimlerChrysler and Ford raisingtheir Ballard stakes to 23.6 percent and 19.5 per-cent, respectively, up from 18.0 percent and 13.5

percent. As part of that transaction, Ballard hastaken over the Ecostar electric drivetrain andXcellsis fuel cell “engines” operations.

“We wanted to bring the whole powertrainunder one roof so we would have the capabilityto integrate and reduce cost,” says Rasul. “Thesimplicity of the organization is going to trans-late into the simplicity of the vehicle product.”

Ballard-powered ZeBus has finished service trials at SunLine Transit.

Ballard president Rasul.


Ballard Power Is Spreading Its WingsFiroz Rasul, President & CEOBallard Power Systems

Southern California Edison’s

Electric Vehicle Technical CenterA Comprehensive Independent Test Facility for All Electro-Drive Technologies

For information on how SouthernCalifornia Edison’s EV TechnicalCenter can assist with your elec-tro-drive program contact Juan Argueta at 1-909-469-0315 or [email protected].

• Pure EV and hybrid propulsion testing for cars, trucks, scooters, forklifts,ground support equipment, buses and more

• Evaluation of battery modules, battery pack strings, battery managementsystems, and various types of chargers

• Fleet operations training

• Warranty and maintenance services

• Industry consulting

Hypercar, Inc. is seeking an automaker partner totake its designs and make the Revolution vehicle ondisplay here into a production reality.

Hypercar has worked with numerous companiesto engineer the show car at Booth 335, saysstrategic partnerships VP David Cramer. One keycontributor is the UK’s TWR Engineering, a firmassociated with racer Tom Walkinshaw.

Hypercar set the specs for the Revolution’s fuelcell with UTC Fuel Cells (formerly IFC), and figuresto fuel the 35-kilowatt unit with hydrogen stored in5,000-psi, Type IV, tanks from Impco/Quantum.

Motors from UQM Technologies were used to setthe specs for Revolution’s two front motors, whichpartially share a housing and connect with thewheels via axles, while athe hub-mounted rearmotors are from SR Drives of Leeds, UK.

Switzerland’s Reiter helped out with theRevolution’s lightweight acoustic interior, Cramerreports, and Hypercar worked with Michelin onwheels and tires.

Lightweight carbon composite materials are keyto the Revolution vehicle. Hypercar has worked withUK-headquartered Advanced Composites Group,but is developing fabrication technology in-housetoo. Hypercar’s emphasis – and technical edge – islow-cost production of fiber preforms that can beused with either thermoset or thermoplastic resins.

Fomenting the Revolution


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Colorado-based Hypercar hitsETIC like an avalanche, promotinga new electric drive concept vehicleit says marks an innovative mar-riage of key technologies enablingthe clean, economical car of thefuture.

Chairman Amory Lovins of theRocky Mountain Institute is cred-ited as the Hypercar conceptinventor. His vision of a composite-bodied car expressly designed to bea hybrid electric vehicle madeworldwide waves in an article in TheAtlantic Monthly in January 1995.

Nearly seven years later,Hypercar, Inc. (Booth 335) isshowing the revolutionaryRevolution, and is offering itsdesigns and design expertise toautomakers. The company claimsthe vehicle is the first to fully inte-grate four key areas of advancedvehicle design:

• lightweight carbon compositestructures, including processes formaking automobile parts that cancut car body weight by almost 60%,offer superior crashworthiness, andbe made repeatably and cost-com-petitively in production volumes of50,000 per year;

• hybrid electric drives, includingnetworked power distribution,vehicle control, and informationmanagement systems, making useof wireless communication, em-bedded electronics, and advancedsoftware technologies;

• a networked and digitally con-trolled system to manage uniquepower and cooling requirements ofhybrid-electric and fuel-cellpropulsion systems, cutting bothcosts and mass by half; and

• chassis systems and “corner”modules integrating electronicallycontrolled active dampers and fully

electric disc brakes with semi-activesuspension and a complete systemof hubs, steering, and suspensionarms, all said to work better, use lessenergy, and last longer.

“The technologies encompassedin the Revolution will lead the wayin the engineering and design offuture vehicles with no compromiseto the driver or the environment,”

says Hypercar marketing directorThammy Evans.

Hypercar says it’s in discussionwith strategic investors and jointdevelopment partners to further itsbusiness and product developmentefforts. $5 million has been raisedto date. Hypercar lists TWREngineering, Sun Micro-systems,and Michelin as technical partners.

Hypercar’s fuel cell-powered ‘Revolution’ is making first show appearance.

Hypercar Offers Integrated Fuel Cell CarIt Needs a Production Partner to Build

Saminco, Inc. (Booth 322) keeps a low profile,but the privately held, Fort Myers, FL-basedcompany manufactures solid-state controllersand motor drives for high-profile customersworldwide. Saminco components are in Ford’sP2000 and DaimlerChrsyler’s Necar 4 fuel cell

prototypes, as well asBallard/Xcellsis fuelcell and GM-Allisonhybrid buses.

Saminco is work-ing with Ballard onits Phase 5 fuel cellbus that will operatein multiple Europeancities. “We’ve beenin every Ballard/

Xcellsis/DBB bus made; we have a strong com-mitment on both sides,” says sales and marketingmanager Larry Machak. For years Saminco

has made AC/DC andDC/DC controllers forunderground mining EVs,which comprise about60% of its business.

Its controllers are inshuttle cars and locomo-tives known as “mantrips,”which transport workersand equipment into amine; railed vehicles; andlong-wall “shearer” haul-age vehicles, which scrape coal off earthen walls.Because the shearer operates in a high-methanegas environment, the controller is in a steelexplosion-proof enclosure. These EVs rangefrom 5 kW to 200 kW and operate from 230VAC to 575V AC, and 72VDC to over 900V DC.

Saminco developed a system that charges amining vehicle battery from the trolley line whileit’s at the surface, allowing it to operate in both“trolley” and battery modes. Saminco is the onlycompany certified by the Mining Safety andHealth Administration to do onboard battery

charging, Machak says. The company recentlyopened a manufacturing, repair and trainingfacility in Lavalette, WV, near Huntington, toaccommodate the eastern U.S. coalfields.

Saminco also is setting its sights on the airportground support equipment market, having inkednew product development deals with S&S Tugand FMC Corp.

Machak likens the company’s 40-person shopto a fast-turning speedboat, “Because of our sizewe can react and develop products much morequickly than others,” he says.

Graziano Trasmissioni is here fromItaly promoting drivetrain productsfor small electric vehicles, includingneighborhood EVs.

The Turin, Italy-headquarteredcompany (Booth 339) offers a range ofmotors and gearboxes, and rear axles.It’s here as part of an effort to “consol-idate our presence as a preferred

supplier of complete driveline mod-ules,” parlaying extensive experiencein passenger cars into a position in anew emerging market.

Besides Europe, the 50-year-oldcompany claims customers in Japan,Malaysia, Thailand and LatinAmerica; and EZ-Go, Club Car,Columbia ParCar, Taylor-Dunn andCushman in the U.S., as well as NEVplayers including the Ford Th!nkGroup and DaimlerChrysler’s GEM.

Graziano Trasmissioni has a dedi-cated plant for small EV componentsin Bari, Italy.

The company has an office inDuluth, GA.

Far cry from the coal mine: Saminco’s on Ford’s existing P2000 fuel cell carand could figure on such future vehicles as the concept P2000 shown above.

Saminco’s Larry Machak.


Low Profile & Big-Name EV Customers


ETIC

2001

Italy’s Graziano Weighs In

AC Propulsion (Booth 400) has vehicle-to-gridtechnology allowing EVs to help utilities byserving as power reservoirs that can be drawnon during hours of peak demand.

Making V2G possible is EV charging hard-ware that lets the vehicle be charged duringoff-peak hours and pass electricity back to thegrid during periods of peak usage.

A Volkswagen Beetle with a bi-directional

battery charger from AC is being shown here. “Most vehicles sit idle about 23 hours out of

every day,” says AC’s Alec Brooks. “If thepower system in an electric or hybrid vehiclecould be deployed to provide valued services tothe power grid during otherwise idle times, anew income stream could be generated.

“The value created could go a long way towardoffsetting ownership and operating costs.”

V2G: AC’s Two-Way Charger Can Aid Utilities

V2G would use vehicles as utility power reservoirs.

Larry MachakSales & Marketing ManagerSaminco, Inc.

Graziano Trasmissioni is targeting NEVs.

Montreal-based Avestor (the former Hydro-Quebec/ArgoTech) is stepping up itspromotion of lithium-metal-polymer technologyfor electric vehicles, noting that advancedLMP batteries have been tested in vehiclesincluding the Ford Th!nk City and the HondaInsight hybrid.

The batteries can be configured for bothhigh-energy battery EV requirements and high-power hybrid applications, the company says.

Attractive to developers of battery EVs is

specific energy of 121 watt-hours per kilo-gram, which is three to four times better thanlead acid batteries. Specific power is stated at

241 watts per kilo. The batteries have the added advantage of

being stable under extreme operating temper-atures, without special cooling, and have along life expectancy.

“The Avestor battery is a fully functionalbattery,” the company says, noting that it wasinstalled in the Th!nk City with no other modifi-cation of the vehicle.

LMP batteries in the Th!nk City improvedsingle-charge range to 101 kilometers from

the 85 gotten from thevehicle’s standard nickelcadmium cells, states apaper being circulatedhere by Avestor.

The project involvedoff-the-shelf battery mod-ules, and would haveresulted in even betterper formance improve-ments “with a newbattery pack using thelatest LMP technologyand designed to utilize allthe space available in the

Th!nk City battery compartment.” The company is displaying the vehicle here

(Booth 201).

Avestor Touts Lithium-Metal-Polymer Batteries


ETIC

2001

Avestor is testing lithium-metal-polymer batteries in the Th!nk City.

“We think we’re going to win.” So says GeneralMotors Advanced Technology Vehicles brandmanager Ken Stewart of the automaker’s legalchallenge to California’s zero emission vehiclessales mandate for 2003, a lawsuit that appearedon the eve of ETIC to the company’s mainstrategy in battery electric vehicle compliance.

GM has made it clear that it sees no viablemarket for battery EVs. Unlike Ford with itsTh!nk vehicles, and DaimlerChrysler with itsnew Global Electric MotorCars subsidiary, GMhas as yet unveiled no product for California in2003, and instead is suing the California AirResources Board over the legitimacy of the state’smandate.

“GM has trouble with the direction thatCARB has taken,” Stewart understates.

“This mandate as it’s been turned around isreally not producing cleaner air.”

GM’s argument is that battery EVs are tooexpensive to produce, and if they’re mandated

will force up price of othercars. Older dirtier carswon’t get replaced as soonas they otherwise would,and the net result will bedirtier air.

“Their mandates don’tcreate demand,” Stewartsays of CARB (whichclearly disagrees with theOEM’s assessment). “Theirmission is to provide cost-effective solutions forcleaner air,” he says. “We want the freedom to beable to provide cleaner air and better economythrough a variety of options.”

“We’re bringing out the hybrids,” Stewartsays, in reference to electrically assisted lighttrucks promised for 2004 and beyond, and fuelcells. GM has its own fuel cell developmenteffort, and in recent weeks has gone head-to-headwith Ballard over the fundamental quality andpower of their respective stacks.

Here at ETIC 2001, GM is on the defensive,not only for suing the state over its mandate, but

because of word earlier this year that the com-pany would be scrapping some of its older EV1s.The EV1, of course, is GM’s high-performancebattery EV1, beloved by the relatively few peoplethat were able to lease them, but never broughtinto full-scale production.

“We’re going to eventually have some vehiclesthat don’t have any use and these are going to berecycled,” Stewart says, with reclamation of bothcomponents and materials.

“Nowhere in this plan am I going out andtaking cars off the road from customers,” he says,“without the customer requesting it first.”

GM’s EV emphasis is on hybrids, like this 40-foot bus with GM-Allison drive.


GM: Hybrids, Fuel Cells, and the LawyersKen Stewart, Brand ManagerGeneral Motors ATVs


ETIC

2001

Toyota (Booth 630) is displayingits battery electric RAV4-EV here,as well as the popular Prius sedan,and is showing off three drivetrainconfiguations for such electricallyassisted fossil fuel vehicles.

The display includes a drive-train for the Prius dating from1997. More than 70,000 Priuseshave been sold worldwide, most ofthem in Japan but some 20,000 inthe U.S. Toyota launched theEstima minivan with the THS-Cdrive with continuously variable

transmission in Japan this pastJune. It began selling and theCrown sedan with THS-M“mild” hybrid system (just 3 kilo-watts of motor boost), in August.

Toyota Shows VersatilityWith Trio of Hybrid Drives

Toyota’s Three Hybrid DrivesTHS THS-M THS-CPrius Mild Hybrid CVT*

engine displacement 1.5 liters 3.0 liters 2.4 literscylinders/valves 4/16 6/24 4/16

engine max output 53 kilowatts 147 kilowatts 96 kilowatts

rear motor max output -- -- 18 kilowattsfront motor max output 33 kilowatts 3.0 kilowatts 13 kilowatts

voltage 274 volts 36 volts 216 volts*continuously variable transmission

Toyota ‘mild’ hybrid drive.

Spokane, WA-based CommuterCars Corp is here (Booth300) withthe Tango, a peppy new commuterbattery EV.

The vehicle, ballasted for sta-bility, is 38 inches wide, or aboutsix inches narrower than a HondaGold Wing motorcycle, yet is fullyfreeway capable. It has a single-charge range of about 80 mileswith lead acid batteries.

The Tango can go from zero to

60 mph in less than four seconds. The vehicle has a pair of

Advanced DC motors, and a Zillacontroller, providing up to 1,800amps at 300 volts, designed andbuilt by Otmar Ebenhoech at CaféElectric in Palo Alto, CA.

Production is slated for 2003. CCC is planning a lower-priced

variant called the Foxtrot. CCC is represented here by VP

Bryan Woodbury.

Spokane Company Debuts the TangoCommuter Cars Corp’s Tango promises performance that belies its size.

eMotion Mobility (Booth 431) is talking up thisweek’s ground-breaking for a 30,000-square-footplant in Hinesville, GA to install electric drivesfrom Solectria in DaimlerChrysler Smart cars.

“The first-of-a-kind facility will install elec-tric batteries, motors and other parts into‘gliders,’ or semi-completed cars,” says eMotionpresident and CEO John Wilson. “Completedelectric smart cars will then be used in eMotion’srevolutionary car sharing program, first inAtlanta, then in other parts of the nation.”

eMotion’s plan is to establish the station carprogram late next year “with over 100 vehicles atselected transit stations.”

Gearbox and motor will be the same as thosespecified by Ford affiliate Ecostar for the newversion of the Th!nk City vehicle, Wilson says.

The company hopes to have more than 2,500vehicles in service in Atlanta in five years, bywhich time similar programs in California andthe Northeast will have taken the total ofeMotion station EVs to more than 16,000.

The new Hinesville plant will house “a micro-assembly process that will match dozens of partsneeded for the electric drive system and other

U.S. regulatory requi-rements with the smartgliders after they arrivethrough the Port ofSavannah,” eMotionsays. The Monday cer-emony included offi-cials from the State ofGeorgia and Daimler,as well as eMotionMobility founder andchairman DonaldPanoz.

“Hinesville waschosen for many rea-sons,” Panoz said.

“First, we needed agood location — close to the Port of Savannah,and near the major rail lines and InterstateHighways that serve the eastern seaboard.

“Second, we wanted to continue our contribu-tion to economic development within the ruralregions of this great state.

“Hinesville fit the bill on all fronts, from itshighly accessible location to its vast pool of

highly trained vehicle technicians residing at theneighboring U.S. Army base, Fort Stewart.”Georgia has initiated a technical training initia-tive to help eMotion Mobility recruit and trainworkers to assemble and test the vehicles.

The plant is to initially employ approximatelyfrom 100 to 150. It will be able to handle morethan 6,000 vehicles per year.

‘Smart’ gliders from Daimler will get electric drives from Solectria at new plant.

eMotion Breaks Ground in Hinesville, GAFor Plant to Electrify Daimler Smart Cars


ETIC

2001

14

S A L E S L E A D S & C O N TA C T S

CONFERENCE AGENDAWEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12 — MEDIA DAY 10:00 AM DAIMLERCHRYSLER

10:15 AM FORD MOTOR COMPANY

10:30 AM AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR COMPANY

10:45 AM COLUMBIA PAR CAR CORPORATION

11:00 AM SOLECTRIA/VOLTAGE VEHICLES

11:15 AM ENOVA

11:30 AM MAXWELL TECHNOLOGIES

11:45 AM TOYOTA

1:00 PM DAIMLERCHRYSLER/GLOBAL ELECTRIC MOTORCARS

1:15 PM MILLENNIUM CELL

1:30 PM AVS, INC.1:45 PM EPRI

2:00 PM POWERZINC, INC.2:15 PM ELECTRIC VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE, INC.2:30 PM AC PROPULSION, INC.2:45 PM ITS-UC DAVIS

3:00 PM METHANOL INSTITUTE

3:15 PM HYPERCAR, INC.3:30 PM COMMUTER CARS CORPORATION

EXHIBITOR PRESS CONFERENCE TIME-LINE

8:00 AM – 10:00 AM OPENING PLENARY SESSION

10:00 AM – 12:00 NOON EXHIBITOR PRESS CONFERENCES

(held at each participating exhibitor’s booth)

12:00 NOON – 1:30 PM MEET THE INDUSTRY LEADERS LUNCHEON

(held in the exhibition hall)

MEDIA ONLY RIDE N’ DRIVE HELD DURING THE LUNCHEON

(battery, hybrid and fuel cell vehicles available)

1:00 PM – 3:45 PM EXHIBITOR PRESS CONFERENCES

(held at each participatingexhibitor’s booth)

Free DrawingWin a FREE subscription to Fleet&Fuels newsletter and stay up to speed

on electric transportation industry news and events.

E-mail us at [email protected] and we’ll put you on the list for a free trial subscription to the Fleets & Fuels newsletter.

(be sure to include your postal address too)And, one lucky ETIC attendee will get a FREE year’s subscription.

Names, Phone Numbers and E-Mailsof Key Players with Every Report!

Who’s Selling What to Whom

New Technology Developments

By-Weekly Monday Delivery

E V A A M E M B E R S H I P L I S T

Advanced Vehicle Systems

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

American Honda Motor Company, Inc.

American MagLev Technologies, Inc.

American Public Power Association

Avestor (Hydro Quebec)

Atlantic Center for the Environment

Azure Dynamics Corporation

Baker Equipment Engineering Company

Ballard Power Systems

Carolina EV Coalition

CEREVEH

Chattanooga Area Regional TransportationAuthority

CITELEC

City of Atlanta/Bureau of Motor Transport Services

City of Burbank

City of New York

Club Car, Inc.

Columbia ParCar Corporation

Compact Power, Inc.

Copper Development Association

Curtis Instruments

DaimlerChrysler Corporation

Delta Airlines

Dominion Virginia Power

Dynasty Motorcar Corporation

Ecostar Electric Drive Systems

Edison Electric Institute

Electric Vehicle Infrastructure

Electric Vehicle Association of Canada

Electric Vehicle Association of Great Britain

eMotion Mobility LLC

Energy Conversion Devices/Ovonic

Enova Systems

EPRI

ERIM

Florida Power and Light Company

Ford Motor Company

General Energy Technologies Inc.

General Motors Corporation

Global Electric MotorCars, LLC

Global Venture Investments, LLC

Hydro-Quebec

IMPCO Technologies Inc.

International Lead Zinc Research Organization, Inc.

Long Island Power Authority

Massachusetts Divisionof Energy Resources

Maxwell Technologies

Mid-Del Lewis Eubanks AVTS

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association

New York Power Authority

New York State Technology Enterprise Corporation

Nissan North America/Nissan R&D

Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA)

NYSERDAPotomac Electric Power Company

Powercell Corporation

PSA Peugeot-Citroen/USTR

Sacramento Municipal Utility District

SAFT America, Inc.

Salt River Project

Saminco

San Bernardino Associated Governments

Solectria Corporation

Southern California Economic Partnership

Southern California Edison Company

Southern Company/Georgia Power Company

Technologies M4

Tennessee Valley Authority

Texaco, Inc.

Textron E-Z-GO

3M

Tokyo Electric Power Company

Total EV

Toyota Motor Corporation/Toyota Motor Sales, USA

Unique Mobility, Inc.

University of California, Davis/ITS

US Department of Energy

Volkswagen

Voltage Vehicles

Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corporation of America

York Technical College

BOLD denotes EVAA Board member.

• Receive up-to-date information on government actions that impact the market for battery, hybrid and fuel cell electric drive technologies;

• Garner invitations to meetings, activities and other events that provide networking opportunities with industry andgovernment leaders;

• Secure a role in promoting U.S. policies that encourage the development of all types of electric drive technologies;

• Receive EVAA informational publications that provide timely information on such topics as new product/technology announcements, newly adopted government incentives, recent EV publications, etc.

• Receive invitations and discounts to major national and international conferences, meetings, seminars, and other national and local EV-related events.

BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP

Please visit our booth or visit our website at www.evaa.org, contact us at (202) 508-5995.

Technology and innovation with a purpose. Caring for the environment with zero emissions.

www.think-technologies.com

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