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Arizona Public Service (APS) has joined Southern California Edison (SCE) in sponsoring construction of a high performance Electric Vehicle based on a Honda CRX using DEMI's proprietary rechargeable Zinc-Air battery technology. The Zinc-Air CRX went 215 miles (346 km) on a single charge in its first test at an average speed of 45 mph (72 km/h) (SAE “D” cycle) and demonstrated a top speed of 87 mph (140 km/h). At the Inaugural Solar and Electric (S&E) 500 at the Phoenix International Raceway April 5-7, 1991, the CRX set a national record for a 1-mile closed course at 69.44 mph (112 km/h). The car won the pole position and dominated the 2 hour race winning by a comfortable 4-lap margin against a field of 12 other EVs from all over the United States. This paper covers the results of vehicle testing to date and the car's battery and electrical subsystems.

Dreisbach ElectroMotive, Inc. (DEMI) is developing a maintenance-free rechargeable Zinc-Air Battery that operates at room temperature. This new battery has an energy density of 200 Wh/kg or about eight times conventional Nickel-Cadmium or Lead-Acid technology now used in electric vehicle applications. This paper will cover the performance characteristics of DEMI's Zinc-Air Batteries to date and the results of a 48-cell test in a Chrysler minivan* which was converted to electric drive under the sponsorship of Southern California Edison. In addition, work in progress on a 168 cell long range vehicle configuration will be presented.

Dreisbach ElectroMotive, Inc. (DEMI) is developing and testing a maintenance-free wall-plug rechargeable Zinc-Air Battery to power Electric Vehicles. This new battery technology offers over 200 mile vehicle range capability from very low cost, commonly available raw materials. This paper will focus on the preliminary systems integration needed by an electric Vehicle to operate these air breathing batteries in various common environments. Air cooling and reaction air requirements will be covered as well as the actual systems used to implement these requirements in a Chrysler minivan* which is sponsored by Southern California Edison (SCE). In addition, the projected system implementations of Zinc-Air batteries in automobiles and multi-use vans will be presented.

Two second-generation Zinc-Air powered minivans are in development for Southern California Edison by Dreisbach ElectroMotive, Inc. (DEMI). These vehicles utilize two 52.2-kW-peak (70-hp-peak) drive motors in parallel, driving a conventional 3-speed Torqueflite™ transmission and the Chrysler minivan's conventional power steering and air conditioning. The vehicles are equipped with electric heat and electric / vacuum power brakes. A 60-kWh Zinc-Air battery in conjunction with a 10-kWh NiCd load-leveling battery provides a peak power of 104.4-kW (140-hp, 120-kW electrical peak) and over 322 km (200 miles) range at 64 km/h (40 mph) while maintaining a 454 kg (1000 lb) payload capability. The vehicles are equipped with on-board high-medium-low rate chargers which can accommodate a range of available recharge power feeds.

The power coupler in a Southern California Edison / DEMI Zinc-Air powered Chrysler research minivan is detailed including circuit theory, performance and road testing experience. A coupler is defined here to mean an electrical device which connects two different power sources together such that each source can individually contribute its optimal power characteristics. The power coupler connects long operating range Zinc-Air batteries with peak power (acceleration) NiCd batteries in a battery-battery hybrid configuration. This circuit could also be used in a motor generator -battery hybrid, and with various battery types. The power coupler uses a single 18 kHz IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) switching circuit to provide main vehicle cruise power to 12 kW from the Zinc-Air battery at 95% conversion efficiency. When power demand exceeds 12 kW the difference is made up by the NiCd pack.

Dreisbach ElectroMotive, Inc. (DEMI) under the sponsorship of Arizona Public Service with assistance from Motorola Semiconductor Products and GM’s Saturn Division, has developed a second-generation high performance Zinc-Air powered electric vehicle (EV). The EV is based on a 1992 Saturn SC coupe chassis and uses a dual battery hybrid configuration to demonstrate acceleration, top speed and operating range approaching gasoline vehicle specifications. This electric powered Saturn SC beat a conventional Saturn SC1 in a 5 lap sprint race during the third Annual Solar and Electric 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. The DEMI/APS Saturn set a new electric stock car lap record of 40.8 seconds during the race and was about 1 second per lap faster than the stock reference car. Both cars were set up by the Saturn Engineering department just prior to the race and used identical race-prepared tires.