California moves for EV

In a new measure, the California State Assembly has paved the way to make electric vehicles more affordable as well as practical for the ordinary car user. Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield filed a bill allowing for easier access to these vehicles of the future.

Assembly Bill 2502 passed the California Lower House by a unanimous 75 to none vote and with that the measure was forwarded to the California State Senate for further review and consideration.

According to Blumenfield, “Electric vehicles must become a more affordable and practical choice for Californians. Getting past ‘range anxiety’ is essential for this technology to be embraced by commuters. Accelerated vehicle recharging can help and we must make it more affordable.”

This bill is just part of the Blumenfield’s overall Clean Car Package. Other aspects of the bill include allowing car dealers to include the cost of accelerated charging systems for the electric vehicle, such as installation costs in the purchaser’s home or the vehicle’s financing charges. The fast charging equipment would allow the homeowner to fully recharge the vehicle through a 220 volt outlet overnight.

Blumenfield adds, “We can encourage more Californians to buy zero-emission cars. A few thousand dollars out of pocket is a barrier we can overcome with this bill.”

New car consumers in the state make downpayments for vehicles ranging from 17.8% or US$5,139 for a US$28,870 priced car in 2011. While this figure is below the threshold level of 20% recommended by car market buying authorities, making additional financing available is important to improve the market acceptance of the electric vehicle platform.

Another bill authored by Blumenfield is AB 2045 and it provides clean car drives with free access to carpool lanes and converted toll lanes. Before this measure, clean cars have never been allowed free access in these specific lanes. This said bill was passed last month and has been forwarded to the California State Senate.

Over and above the current state and federal incentives provided to purchasers, these new measures would help the car market gear more towards the purchase of clean and green technologies for their transportation needs. These new incentives would help tip the scales in favor of the electric vehicle for a cleaner and greener future for all.

Top cars for 2012

Top 10. The expanded market Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt. As new markets in Canada and the UK receive the Opel Ampera, the European version of the Volt, the market base is expected to increase. As for the Leaf, it would also start to show up in Nissan showrooms in the UK and other fifty states in the United States.

Top 9. The SmartforTwo Electric Drive. The Smart Car builder Daimler has said that it would be launching its third generation SmartForTwo Electric Drive car in thirty new markets by the fall of 2012. The delay from the original summer 2012 launch was due to quality control issues with its battery supplier Li-Tec.

Top 8. The Honda Fit EV. This EV from Honda was scheduled to be released in Oregon and some parts of California by the summer of 2012, with only 1,100 scheduled to be built in the next three years.

Top 7. The Mitsubishi i. This is the updated version of the MiEV and is available in both Japan and the United Kingdom since the start of 2012. Costing just about US$29,125 before the application of the incentives from state and federal law, this is clearly one of the most affordable EVs in the market today.

Top 6. The Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid. The Prius Goes Plural campaign in full swing, the Japanese car giant has offered this new hybrid version to its current stable of hybrid models.

Top 5. The Ford Focus Electric. The market ready ones would become ready for the market by the spring of 2012. This is the first pure electric vehicle from one of the Detroit Big Three carmakers.

Top 4. The Fisker Karma. Despite the delays, the Fisker Karma has now become available. The first ones though need to be recalled for some minor repairs but the current issues of the company may eventually make this car an endangered species, especially with its six-figure purchase price.

Top 3. The Toyota RAV 4 EV. This is the joint venture project between Tesla and Toyota. The first few vehicles would become available in California hopefully by mid-2012.

Top 2. The Ford C-Max Energi. This is a plug in version of the Ford C-Max wagon. This vehicle is scheduled to become available in the United States within 2012 while Europe would have to wait until 2013.

Top 1. The Tesla Model S. This is one of the longest waiting lists for cars in history, with 6,500 individuals placing their order together with US$5,000 two years before its actual availability. This vehicle is one of the most awaited releases for 2012.

Small court claim judgment making ripples

A judge had overturned a small claims judgment amounting to US$10,000 against the American Honda Motor Co. The award was won by a Hybrid Civic Owner who claimed that the company misrepresented the vehicle’s capability to achieve fifty (50) miles per gallon.

The reversal was made by Superior Court Judge Dudley W. Gray II after Honda appealed a court commissioner’s grant of damages to petitioner Heather Peters. The judge had found that Peters had the standing to sue in state court but it was federal rules that govern fuel economy ratings together with the advertising claims. It also found that most owners of this particular kind of vehicle were able to achieve fuel economy mileage near the estimates of the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA miles per gallon ratings are done merely for comparison purposes between vehicles and does not consider other vehicular factors such as the condition of the car or the trip distance, both of which affects the car’s mileage performance.

The decision penned by Gray said, “Despite these many variables, most of the owners of the subject vehicle achieve fuel economy very close to the EPA estimate.” He added that the automaker’s advertising slogans “are not specific promises of anything.”

Peter, a lawyer herself, filed a small claims case on her out and opting out of the class action settlement that offered 200,000 Honda Civic Hybrid as much as US$200 together with a rebate if they choose to purchase a new Honda. With the award in the small claims court, she was able to convince about 1,700 other hybrid owners to follow the route she had taken.

Honda for its part said that there were no exact numbers for those that had opted out but it had already won sixteen of the seventeen cases filed in small claims court since January of this year.

The reversal of the ruling by the superior court judge would not have a direct effect on the other cases. Many legal observers though said that this route could pose a challenge to many others filing in small claims court. While it is not binding on other courts, according to an expert, it certainly is persuasive on others.

Peters for her part said she was disappointed with the ruling but glad as to the attention she had brought to her plight and to many others like her. She quipped, “They used to go the extra mile in customer service, now they go the extra mile fighting customers in court.” She made these comments on her personal website.

In a statement, Honda said, “We are never satisfied when a customer is anything less than satisfied with one of our products and the company does not relish the necessity to defend the truth in opposition to any of our customers.”

Another blow to Fisker Karma

According to unofficial reports from the Fort Bend County Texas Fire Department, an unplugged Fisker Karma sedan had caused a fire in a home in the area resulting in about US$100,000 structural damage costs.

The photos from the fire scene showed that the electric vehicle was almost consumed by the fire but the lithium ion battery pack remained intact. While the fire investigators have already identified the cause of the blaze, the investigation continues on the full extent of the fire.

According to Chief Fire Investigator Robert Baker, “Yes, the Karma was the origin of the fire but what exactly caused that, we don’t know at this time.” He further related that the driver arrived home riding the Fisker. He pulled into the garage and about three minutes later, the car was up in flames. The electric vehicle was not plugged in when the car was engulfed in flames but the Karma battery remained intact. The owner related that right before the fire, there was a smell of burning rubber in the vehicle.

Baker further added, “The car was brand-new. He still had paper tags on it, so it was sixty days old at most.” It was later found that this particular Karma was a post-recall vehicle bought back in April.

The resulting damage to the garage was assessed as substantial, which spread to the second floor of the home. No injuries resulted from the incident and the home was apparently new with the owner just moving into the residence. The damage was estimated at about US$100,000, without the cost of the two other vehicles damaged in the garage which were a Mercedes Benz SUV and an Acura NSX.

The investigator quipped, “This looks just like golf cart fires we have down here.” He was referring to the extent of the fifty or so golf cart fires this suburban Houston area experiences annually.

He did observe that the fire scene was crawling with about fifteen engineers from the company finding the cause of the fire in the Karma.  The official statement of Fisker Automotive is as follows:

Last week, Fisker Automotive was made aware of a garage fire involving three vehicles, including a Karma sedan, that were parked at a newly-constructed residence in Sugar Land, Texas. There were no injuries.

There are conflicting reports and uncertainty surrounding this particular incident. The cause of the fire is not yet known and is being investigated.

We have not yet seen any written report form the Fort Bend fire department and believe that their investigation is continuing. As of now, multiple insurance investigators are involved, and we have not ruled out possible fraud or malicious intent. We are aware that fireworks were found in the garage in or around the vehicles. Also, an electrical panel located in the garage next to the vehicles is also being examined by the investigators as well as fire department officials. Based on initial observations and inspections, the Karma’s lithium ion battery pack was not being charged at the time and is still intact and does not appear to have been a contributing factor in this incident.

Fisker will continue to participate fully in the investigation but will not be commenting further until all the facts are established.

Is this Karma or what?

Common plug and charging protocols set

Eight of the world’s leading automakers would be meeting at the EVS26 event in Los Angeles to work together in finding a single-port DC fast charging mechanism meant to make the system easier and faster for electric vehicle charging of the future.

These automakers include Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Porsche and Volkswagen and are moving to support a standardized single port fast charging system known as DC-fast charging with a Combined Charging System in both the United States and the European Union.

This system utilizes a one-phase AC charging together with a fast three phase AC charging set up. At home, it would be using DC charging and an ultra-fast DC charging system for public chargers. This would allow EV owners to charge at most existing charging stations regardless of the power source.

The design came after review, analysis and collaboration from a number of current charging systems together with the preferences of US and European customers. This charging system would be developed for all vehicle markets in an effort to create a uniform standard for all the participating automaker vehicle platforms. This was also chosen by the Society of International Engineers due to its harmony and fast charging capacity. Furthermore, the International Society of Automotive Engineers picked the Combined Charging System as the standard to exponentially extend type-one AC charging platforms.

On the other side of the Pond, the European Association of Vehicle Manufacturers also chose the system as an AC/DC charging interface to be implemented for all new electric vehicle types starting from 2017.

It is expected that the harmonized fast-charging system would help accelerate the development of EV infrastructures for the market as well as able to reduce the overall costs for owners. This would hit the market later this year and the first vehicles that would use this technology would become available starting 2013.

The Beauty of the Ford Focus Electric

While many other electric cars would have avante garde or anime cartoon styling, one of the very few stylish electric cars on the roads today would be the 2012 Ford Focus Electric. The new offering from Ford would be available in major car markets, such as California, New York and New Jersey. The same vehicles would be available in nineteen other locations by the fall season.

What differentiates the Ford Focus Electric is its nearly identical look to the fuel version, with only the small Electric badge as the only difference to identify that under the hood is an electric motor instead of an internal combustion engine. The seats are low and conforms well to body, making the ride completely normal. There are no eclectic electronic dashboard lights, artificial start up sounds, special shifter gizmos or high tech Eco modes. When at the driver’s seat, all that needs to be done is to choose between standard automatic selections of park, drive, low, neutral and reverse.

The main strength of electric vehicles would be their high torque even at a complete stop, allowing for great acceleration from a standing stop to full speed. The power train is tailor made for highway driving by allowing rapid acceleration between thirty to fifty mph and between fifty five and seventy five mph, with plenty to spare. This was clearly an achievement for Ford auto engineers who targeted individual electric car owners who have trouble shedding their old gasoline car driving habits.

According to Eric Kuehn, Chief Engineer for Global Electrified Programs at Ford, “We wanted the Focus Electric to be a vehicle first, that just happened to be electric.”

Electric cars by nature are quiet as the electric motor only provides a whisper of its whirring while in motion. Ford engineers took it to luxury extremes as it provided extra insulation and sound dampening materials to lower overall road noise to ultra luxury levels even with a 107 kilowatt motor running at eighty five mph. It also has a single speed transmission that allows for direct linear velocity and no delay in response in engaging the motor’s features, unlike an internal combustion engine.

All these improvements result in high efficiency performance at just one third the fuel costs of the standard Ford Focus. Furthermore, the Focus Electric uses a 6.6 kilowatt charger, making charging to full in just a few minutes over four hours when attached to a 240 volt outlet. This also provides for twenty miles of driving range in an hour.

Currently, the Ford Focus Electric has a base sticker price of US$39,995. Deducting the US$7,500 federal tax credit as well as the US$2,500 rebate from the State of California, putting the final price at just about US$30,000, it is still a bit pricey. With an EPA rating of 110 mpg, the premium value would be earned as one uses the Ford Focus Electric.

Infiniti launches EV

Nissan’s luxury brand Infiniti has recently unveiled at the New York International Auto Show last April 6 a production ready electric vehicle. The new vehicle is a departure from previous electric concept cars from the company, such as the Emerg-E unveiled in the Geneva Auto Show.

The Infiniti LE is now ready for the US market and provides the luxury counterpart to the Nissan Leaf. The Leaf is one of the world’s mass produced electric vehicles. The LE though is about the same size as the flagship G sedan from the luxury brand. Compared to the Leaf, the LE provides leg room and large cargo space.

The LE also has the same battery size as the Leaf but has a bigger motor, rated at 100kW, delivering more horsepower providing impressive acceleration to the Infiniti. This vehicle also has a wireless charging system, giving a peek into the mass production of the wireless charging system for electric vehicles. This would allow drivers to dispense with plugging in to an outlet to having just a special pad in the garage to recharge the batteries. Even with the wireless charging system, the LE can still be charged through a CHAdeMO DC50kW quick charging system.

Even Carlos Ghosn, Nissan’s head honcho, has put his personal reputation on the line in supporting electric vehicles. He was also present during the introduction of the Infiniti LE, suggesting that the company puts a premium on this already elite model.

The electric motor provides 240 foot pounds of torque and uses a 24 kWh lithium ion battery mounted below the passenger compartment. The range of the LE is expected to be at 160 km and is assisted with a high rear deck, aero treated wheels, rear diffuser and spoilers at the front and sides, lowering overall drag coefficient. This is also one of the very few front wheel drive systems that the company has produced.

One of the major drawbacks would be the laid back design of the LE, a far cry from the very vogue design of the Emerg-E. The Infiniti LE is so laid back and run of the mill that could be one of the more common vehicles in any upper middle class garage throughout North America.

The normal looks of the Nissan Infiniti LE hopes to be the bridge that connects to the second generation of EV adopters. This second generation would be much higher in population compared to the first adopters who had bought in to the Nissan Leaf, leading to the continuation of the electric vehicle revolution.

ADB to fund e-trike

The Asian Development Bank is now working in conjunction with the Philippine government to promote the electric tricycle to be able to meet the country’s growing transportation requirements in a manner that is cost effective as well as environmentally responsible.

With a clear mandate showing that electric vehicles are highly efficient compared to the internal combustion engine, a ratio of seventy percent for the former to just twenty percent for the latter, the electric tricycle or e-trike is one of the programs that is now being considered worldwide. The e-trike produces no tailpipe emissions and no noise. The vehicle can be recharged overnight during off-peak electricity hours.

The multilateral financial institution would work with local government units and the private sector to create financing programs where tricycle drivers would have the opportunity to lease or own these e-trikes by paying less than two hundred pesos a day. This would provide a higher take home pay for the driver, because a conventional tricycle would need almost seven liters of gasoline to travel 100 km. This would cost nearly three hundred and fifty pesos. Comparatively, for the same 100 km, this electric vehicle would use only about five kilowatt hours of electricity or just around fifty pesos per day. The cost difference in fuel savings would help the driver pay for the cost of the electric vehicle.

To complete the assembly as well as the chain of infrastructure support requirement for the projected 100,000 electric tricycles throughout the Philippines, the multilateral financial institution would be extending a financing loan of up to US$500 million. While this is still a proposed amount, all the details are still being discussed especially the implementing rules and regulations for the program.

To expand the funding base for the project, there are discussions with local banks to provide additional financial support to ensure the complete implementation and success of the electric tricycle program throughout the country. While this is an ambitious target, there are now preparations being undertaken to finally deploy as many e-trikes as possible in as many local roads as possible. The program is expected to roll out 100,000 e-trike units by 2020 but the initial program provides for 20,000 e-trikes, where the pilot phase is being undertaken in Mandaluyong City.

According to estimates by ADB, each e-trike would cost around Php 200,000 to assemble, which is a major financial burden to both tricycle operators and drivers to shell out. To soften the blow, there is a package of investment incentives being recommended to allow the vehicles to become practical and affordable in the long run. ADB proposes no cash out from the drivers and operators but a system of concessional financing for the program cost.

The projected payback period would be five (5) years and can be offset from the Php 200 per day savings garnered from fuel savings because of the cheaper electric charging cost of the e-trike. It also proposes at least a thirty percent local component to handle the production side of the e-tricycle venture. The proposed areas for the e-trikes include Metro Manila, Metro Davao, Boracay, Puerto Princesa City and Cabanatuan City.

Standardization is key

The recent events that occurred with electric vehicle have caused much concern for the industry. The recent battery fire with the Chevrolet Volt during testing and the Fisker Karma recall has put safety and storage of lithium ion batteries on the front page news.

All throughout history, when new technology becomes more available, only then would standards to guide its production and use are created and carried out. The path that must be created include the adoption of EV builders the common standards to govern all of its creations.

For this, the American National Standards Institute issued its recommended standardization road map. This is a122 page document designed to pinpoint where gaps exist between manufacturer’s ability and market implementation. This report offers what standards agency SAE International terms as “voluntary consensus” guidelines instead of governmental regulation with the force of law.

According to James McCabe, Senior Director of Standards Facilitation at the institute said, “The United States needs a coordinated approach. We saw it happening in other parts of the world, including Europe and Asia. There are no specific industry-wide standards that address the storage of lithium-ion batteries. This is a key safety concern, because they are likely to be stored in all sorts of situations, from repair facilities to swapping stations.”

The authors of the road map have identified battery storage and care as one of the major area requiring near-term standards. One of the bigger aspects is storage risk and must be evaluated based on several factors, such as state of charge, mechanical wholeness and battery age.”

This coming Monday, Massachusetts would become the second state in the Union to issue specialized special licensed plates for plug in electric cars. The first one was Hawaii and it is aimed to provide risk and caution for first responders in reporting accidents involving these kinds of vehicles.

Another new technology that the road map touched on was wireless charging. This kind of technology dispenses with the need for plugs and plug-ins, which is now near fruition into commercial use. As a carrot, the US Department of Energy has offered a $12 million grant for companies that can put up production-feasible wireless charging systems built into a fleet of market ready and grid connected electric vehicles.

The wireless standards are underway from SAE International. The first guidelines would be released from the institute would be due out in 2012. Another firm, Underwriters Laboratories is also developing safety standards for wireless. With interest in wireless charging at an al time high, the standards would help companies retain viability, competitiveness and efficiency.

Enzyme electrification replicated in batteries

In new research conducted at the Concordia University is allowing the fruition of the goal of clean viable energy. Now, it is possible to extend the length of time a battery like enzyme can store energy to mere seconds instead of hours. The new study would be published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

The study is headed by Laszlo Kalman, Associate Professor at Concordia in coordination with graduate students Sasmit Deshmukh and Kait Tang from the Department of Physics. The group has been working with an enzyme found in bacteria that helps in efficiently capturing social energy. The light induces charge separation in the enzyme, allowing one end to be negatively charged and the other end charged positively like a battery.

In a natural setting, this energy is used almost immediately but Kalman has found a way to store that electrical potential and further studies found how to preserve that charge separated state of the enzyme for extended periods of time.

“We had to create a situation where the charges don’t want to or are not allowed to go back and that’s what we did in this study, “ according to Dr Kalman.

The group showed that by adding different molecules, they were able to alter the shape of the enzyme and extending the lifespan of the electrical potential of the enzyme. The enzyme is often embedded in the cell’s outer layer in an area known as the lipid membrane. The structure of the enzyme allows the same to quickly recombine the charges and recover from the charge separated state.

When different lipid molecules comprise the membrane, there would be a mismatch between the membrane’s shape and embedding of the enzyme within it. The enzy,e and the membrane both would eventually change their shapes to find a good common fit. These changes would make the enzyme have difficulty to recombine charges, allowing for a longer lifespan in the charged state.

Kalman added, “What we’re doing is similar to placing a racecar on snow-covered streets. The surrounding conditions prevent the racecar from performing as it would on a racetrack just like the different lipids prevent the enzyme from recombining the charges as efficiently as it does under normal circumstances.”

One of the earliest energy conversion processes is photosynthesis that has existed for billions of years. To which Kalman adds, “All our food, our energy sources, such as gasoline, coal — everything is product of some ancient photosynthetic activity.”

For its part, the researchers are using nature’s battery to inspire more sustainable, human made energy converting systems.