Vehicles - Tech Blog
Global sales of electrified vehicles to approach 4 million annually by 2020, says Pike Research
Annual global sales of electrified vehicles will reach 3.8 million by 2020, Pike Research forecasts in a new report. The company, part of Navigant's Energy Practice, projects the compound annual growth rate for hybrid vehicles at 6% for the remainder of the decade. The growth rate for PEVs—which include full electric vehicles (also called battery electric vehicles, or BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or PHEVs—is projected at nearly 40%. That compares to a growth rate for the overall auto industry of about 2%, according to Pike. It believes PHEVs will outsell EVs in North America and Latin America, while the reverse will be the case in most other regions.
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Ford says the 2013 Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid electric vehicle will deliver more than 100 mpg-equivalent.
SAE Online Poll: Lightweight materials to most benefit heavy vehicles for upcoming regs
Lightweight materials will make the greatest impact in helping medium- and heavy-duty trucks achieve upcoming greenhouse gas/fuel efficiency regulations, according to respondents to an online poll posted on SAE Off-Highway Engineering Online and Automotive Engineering International Online for two weeks in late November and early December. Lightweight materials were chosen by about 42% of the 64 respondents, hailing from 15 nations.
Automatic engine shutdown (idle reduction) came in second with nearly 22% of the vote, followed by design optimization (17%), aerodynamics (11%), and intelligent electronics (e.g., predictive cruise control) at almost 8%. Low rolling resistance tires did not receive a vote.
Half (32) of the respondents were from the U.S., who likewise selected lightweight materials as the most beneficial technology area at 37.5%. Design optimization and automatic engine shutdown swapped places compared to the overall vote, with 22% and 19%, respectively. Aerodynamics received nearly 16% of the U.S. vote, and intelligent electronics received just over 6%.
India had the second most respondents with 8, and Canada was third with 5. Countries posting a single vote included Pakistan (for design optimization), Singapore (lightweight materials), Malaysia (intelligent electronics), and Sri Lanka (automatic engine shutdown).
Check out our magazine websites often to respond to new poll questions posted by the editors, and feel free to suggest possible poll topics at sohe@sae.org or aei@sae.org.
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Voting results for the poll question: “Which technology area will make the greatest impact in achieving upcoming greenhouse gas/fuel efficiency regulations for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles?”
Nissan charges up its new EV battery plant in Tennesee
Nissan recently began operations of its new advanced-battery plant in Tennessee that will supply the energy-storage devices for the Nissan Leafs to be produced at an adjoining vehicle-assembly plant. Regular North American production of the Leaf is to start at the automaker's Smyrna plant early in 2013. To date, the Leaf and its lithium-ion battery pack currently are made in Japan only. The first batteries produced in Smyrna for the 2013 Leaf have completed the required aging process and are ready to receive their first charge, the company said in a recent announcement. The plant is fully integrated, with raw battery cell materials coming in one end and finished battery packs going out the other (see accompanying image). Nissan has not yet released specifications for the 2013 Leaf and its battery pack. The Leaf will be assembled alongside the Nissan Altima and Maxima.
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The production process at Nissan's new U.S. battery plant begins with formation of electrode sheets.
BMW and Boeing to collaborate on carbon-fiber materials
Two heavyweights in the automotive and aerospace industries are joining minds on lighter materials. BMW and Boeing on Dec. 12 announced they would do joint research on carbon-fiber recycling and share knowledge about the material and its manufacture. As part of the collaboration agreement, the two companies will also share carbon-fiber manufacturing process simulations and ideas for manufacturing automation. BMW in 2013 plans to introduce two models from its new i brand (i3 battery-electric and i8 plug-in hybrid) featuring bodies made of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic. Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner aircraft is made up of 50% carbon fiber. The collaboration is the first ever between the two companies.
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The bodies of BMW's i brand models will use carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic. (Patrick Ponticel)
All passenger vehicles to be equipped with black boxes under NHTSA rule
Although about 96% of today's passenger vehicles already are equipped with black boxes (formally called event data recorders, or EDRs), NHTSA (U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) is proposing to require their fitment to all new light passenger vehicles of less than 8500 lb. The rule would take effect Sept. 1, 2014. Information collected would pertain to vehicle speed, braking, crash force, engine throttle, airbag deployment, and seatbelt usage. The proposal includes the same standardized data-collection requirements established by NHTSA in 2006 for EDRs that are voluntarily installed by automakers and mandates that automakers provide a commercially available tool for copying the data. In keeping with NHTSA's current policies on EDR data, the EDR data would be treated by NHTSA as the property of the vehicle owner and would not be used or accessed by the agency without owner consent. The agency expects the rule, if adopted, to cost automakers $20 per vehicle. It will accept public feedback on its proposal for the next two months at http://www.regulations.gov.
XCOR announces ATK as Lynx Mark I Wing detailed design/build contractor
XCOR Aerospace has issued the initial phase of a two-phase contract to ATK's Aerospace Structures Division for the detailed design and manufacture of the Lynx Mark I suborbital reusable launch vehicle (RLV) wings and control surfaces. The initial wing and control surface design has been developed by XCOR to rigorous design standards to enable the craft to perform tens of thousands of flights to and from suborbital altitudes exceeding 100 km. ATK will create a detailed design ready for manufacture, working with structural and flutter analysis experts from Quartus Engineering in San Diego, CA. The wings will be installed on the Lynx Mark I, which is the prototype of the Lynx family of suborbital RLVs from XCOR; the production models are called Lynx Mark II.
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Proposed detailed wing design for XCOR Lynx Mark I to be designed by ATK.
GS Yuasa Li-ion battery cells to power International Space Station
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) awarded a contract to GS Yuasa Lithium Power Inc. (GYLP) to provide lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery cells to be used on the International Space Station (ISS). PWR will integrate GS Yuasa Li-ion cells into batteries that will replace the nickel-hydrogen (Ni-H2) batteries that currently power the ISS Electrical Power System (EPS) during its eclipse mode. This battery replacement effort is part of an initiative to extend the operation and utilization of the ISS. GS Yuasa will supply its LSE134 Li-ion cell that has completed qualification testing for the ISS program. The LSE134 (134-A·h nameplate capacity) cell is a member of GS Yuasa's Generation III family of Li-ion cells for space and is ideally suited to the electrical, size, and mass requirements of this mission. It approximately triples the available energy storage on both a per mass and a per volume basis relative to the existing Ni-H2 battery and is capable of powering critical ISS systems well beyond the required 10-year service life.
Saft receives additional funding from BAE Systems for advanced Li-ion ESS
BAE Systems has awarded Saft $1.3 million in new funding to continue development of a lithium-ion (Li-ion) energy storage system (ESS) for the U.S. Army’s Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) program. The new funding for the GCV project is an addition to the initial 2010 contract. Saft, which is designing and building ultrahigh-power cells for the vehicle’s hybrid-electric drive system, has already completed the demo battery system including hardware and software. Comprised of ultrahigh-power, high-voltage VL 5U cells, the Li-ion ESS supports the GCV’s electric drive system when the vehicle is not running on gasoline, such as during silent watch missions. Saft joins Northrop Grumman, MTU, QinetiQ, and L-3 Communications on the BAE Systems’ GCV team, one of two industry teams working on the technology development phase of the program. The 24-month technology development phase is aimed at completing preliminary design reviews to build prototype systems prior to the engineering and manufacturing phase. Saft believes it will likely be the battery supplier when production begins in 2019, if the BAE Systems/Northrop Grumman team is selected as the Army’s design and manufacturing partner.
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BAE Systems' solution for the U.S. Army’s GCV program—a nine-man Infantry Carrier (plus three crew members) that can protect against threats, move in urban and off-road terrain, and accommodate emerging technologies such as lightweight armor composites and electronics—includes a hybrid-electric drive system.
Motiv ePCS to power heavy electric trucks in Chicago
San Francisco Bay Area-based startup Motiv Power Systems has been chosen to supply its scalable electric Powertrain Control System (ePCS) to the City of Chicago for 20 all-electric garbage trucks, under an exclusive five-year, $13.4 million contract. The City of Chicago operates 600 garbage trucks in total. The ePCS uses off-the-shelf batteries and motors that can be configured to power medium-duty to Class 8 heavy-duty EV trucks, weighing from 15,000 to 52,000 lb (6800 to 23,500 kg). This design approach can cut operating costs by 50% over an eight-year period, according to Motiv. The company, which was founded in 2009, has been validating its ePCS since March 2012 with an all-electric pilot bus. Funded by a grant from the California Energy Commission, the 20-passenger bus contains five battery packs (125 kW·h) providing a range of more than 120 mi (193 km) on a single charge. The Motiv EV refuse trucks planned for Chicago will use the same ePCS system as the pilot bus, but with a larger motor and 10 battery packs, and will also employ an electric motor to drive the hydraulics system. Motiv will work with partner Detroit Chassis to install the ePCS onto a standard refuse chassis; Loadmaster will provide the truck bodies. Weighing 52,000 lb (23,500 kg), the EV refuse trucks will reportedly have a range of more than 60 mi (97 km), with a total energy storage of 200 kW·h. (Go to www.sae.org/mags/sohe/11486 to read about another recent electrified refuse truck project.)
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Weighing 52,000 lb, the Motiv-powered electric refuse trucks in Chicago will have a range of more than 60 mi (97 km), with a total energy storage of 200 kW·h.
General Motors and partners open new plant in China
General Motors, SAIC, and Wuling Motors opened a new car plant Nov. 18 in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, southern China. The three companies are partners in SAIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW). It was on the JV's 10th anniversary that the first car (a Baojun 630 midsize sedan) rolled out of the new $1.28 billion, 2-million-ft2 (200,000-m2) plant. Baojun is a passenger-car brand of SGMW. The joint venture also produces Wuling-brand minivans and minitrucks at other plants. SAIC holds a 50.1% stake in SGMW, GM 44.0%, and Wuling 5.9%. Annual capacity at the new plant is 400,000 units.
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A Baojun 630 midsize sedan was the first vehicle to roll out of the new SGMW plant Nov. 18.
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