There was a panel discussion at this week's SAE Congress that I couldn't pass up. Titled "Fuel Cell Vehicle Panel: Challenges Remaining for Commercialization," the session was a bit of a brainstorm on just how we might one day drive hydrogen-fueled cars with some of the people who are working quite diligently on the problem today. The panel featured Dr. Massimo Venturi, CTO of NuCellsys GmbH, Germany, Dr. Kev Adjemian, senior principle engineer, Nissan Fuel Cell Laboratory, Michigan, and Dr. James Miller, director, Electrochemical Technology Program, Argonne National Lab (for DOE), Fuel Cell Laboratory, Chicago. The three spoke and answered questions for about 30 minutes. Needless to say, the big problems weren't solved in this half hour, but it was enlightening to hear from another industry panel where things stand today regarding the automobile and the hydrogen economy. Considering that the public's perception of hydrogen fuel is currently defined (for many) as the Hindenberg explosion, there are more than just technological issues to deal with.
Because of the nature of the SAE Congress, I did not have permission to post the audio of this panel. Instead, I've detailed some of what was said and given a few of my own thoughts after the break.
The Scuderi split-cycle engine technology is not new to our pages. Last year around this time, we had an opportunity to interview Nick Scuderi about the company and came away thinking that the idea, though unproven, has some merit. According to an article on Automotive News, Scuderi is confident that they will line up some licensing agreements to use their technology shortly. Apparently, some amount of validation has been completed recently which offered promising results.
Diesel Scuderi engines could post 30 to 50 percent lower nitrous oxide emissions according to the company and gasoline/compressed-air hybrids are also in development. Still, real test-engines are not yet up and running, so there is a long way to go before anybody will know for sure if this engine design is able to meet its expectations. Watch a video after the break of a simulated rendering of the Scuderi engine in action.
In a back corner of Cobo Hall during the SAE Congress this week, we came upon the Emitec booth featuring the company's line of diesel filters. We spoke with Markus Downey, an application engineer at Emitec, about what makes these filters different from others on the market, and you can listen to our talk by clicking on the audio widget player below.
Emitec produces a partial flow filter (as opposed to a wall flow filter) made of metal and uses a passively regenerated cleaning system. This means that the soot collected from the exhaust is catalytically combusted with NO2 generated upstream in the engine. Downey explained that the benefit to this system is a more stable operating system, which makes it easier to be retrofitted. The DPFs can be used on large diesel engines (i.e., buses or trucks) or on diesel engines in smaller passenger cars. Some companies, like MAN, use Emitec filters as a first-fit. Downey said that most of the company's testing is done in Europe using ULSD, but he figures that a standardized biodiesel - should such a thing ever be widely available - would not pose a problem for the Emitec filters.
Emitec's press release is pasted after the jump. (UPDATE: updated release)
About a month ago, we spoke with Dr. Prabhakar Patil of Compact Power, Inc. about CPI's lithium-ion battery technology. We didn't want to miss the chance to chat in person during the SAE Congress this week, so we stopped by the CPI booth. The reason most AutoblogGreen readers would be following the fortunes of CPI is the company's work with GM on the Chevy Volt (CPI, along with A123 Systems, are supplying the test battery packs for the Volt. BTW, the Volt/Malibu mules are on the track) but Dr. Patil again mentioned that CPI is working with other, unnamed OEMs. We're anxious to learn more about that.
But let's talk about the battery deal we do know about. Based on the packs currently being tested in the Volt, Dr. Patil estimated that a li-ion battery that could move an electric car 100 miles between charges would weigh about 800 pounds. This is double what the Volt's batteries weigh, but would get you 2.5 times the Volt's EV-only distance, because the Volt's batteries reserve some power for the hybrid operations. Regenerative braking can get you the rest of the way. Considering all the studies that show that most people drive well-under 50 miles a day, carrying around all that extra weight for capacity that won't often get used doesn't make a lot of sense, he said. Patil also sees the benefits of the recent CARB ZEV mandate decision. Give a listen.
In the CPI booth was the company's ER2 racer which was setting speed records back in 2002. The ER2 uses an 11 kWh li-ion battery pack and a 165 kW AC induction motor to go from 0-60 in 3.2 seconds. More details here.
Photo by psd. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.
At the SAE Congress this week, the director of the EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Margo Oge, said that in order to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent compared to 2000 levels (something the Detroit News called a proposal that is "widely backed" in the scientific community), a new CAFE standard of 75 mpg would need to be implemented. And you thought you heard a howl when the 35 mpg by 2020 limit was imposed late last year. How could cars reach that goal? Oge suggests improvements in both engines and fuels. Glad that was figured out.
While 75 mpg is a fanciful fight we'll leave for another day, this line jumped out at me in the Detroit News piece: "Oge said the auto industry should be able to meet the 35 mpg standard by 2018 with the same size fleet, with cost-effective technology improvements, based on an internal EPA study." By 2018? Cool. Where's the pressure to move the CAFE law's implementation up two years?
When we first heard about the new mono-fuel BMW Hydrogen 7, we were rather impressed by the extremely low emissions numbers posted by the model when tested at Argonne National Laboratory. The fact that BMW was able to reduce the emissions, boast better range and make more power as compared to their previous-generation Hydrogen 7 was pretty cool. According to Dr. Thomas Wallner, lead engineer in Argonne's hydrogen vehicle testing activities, "[The Hydrogen 7's] engine actively cleans the air. Argonne's testing shows that the Hydrogen 7's engine actually shows emissions levels that, for certain components, such as Non Methane Organic Gases (NMOG's) and Carbon Monoxides (CO's), are cleaner than the ambient air that comes into the car's engine."
So, because air is required for the hydrogen combustion, and there are pollutants already present in the air, at times the exhaust from the BMW is cleaner than the air it took in. Does that warrant BMW referring to their hydrogen-burner as a "pollution-consuming internal combustion engine?" Perhaps we're just picking nits, but that sounds a wee bit like greenwashing. It's not like the overall air is cleaner after going through the system, after all. Read their entire press release after the break.
We got a chance to sort of check out the Raser Technologies series hybrid/extended range EV powertrain at the SAE Congress in Detroit this week. I say sort of because what is on display are some bits and pieces that display the layout of the components in the system. Raser is currently working with an un-named vehicle manufacturer and FEV to implement the system into a full-size SUV. I spoke with Dr. Jochem Wolschendorf, CTO of FEV, about the program. According to Dr. Wolschendorf, Raser is producing the electric motors and generators for the system while FEV is handling the systems integration in the vehicle as well as the control algorithm and software development.
Raser and FEV plan to have the first prototype vehicle ready to demonstrate in the third quarter of this year installed in a full-size SUV. The standard V-8 engine in the SUV will be replaced with a smaller four cylinder engine whose sole purpose will be to drive a 100kW generator. The engine/generator will be used to charge a 27kWh Electrovaya lithium polymer battery pack when its state of charge gets too low. As with GM's E-Flex system, there is to be no mechanical connection between the internal combustion engine and the wheels. When fully charged off the grid, that pack is expected to provide up to forty miles of electric only driving range for the SUV and FEV's simulations indicate that on a mix of driving cycles, such a vehicle should be able to average somewhere around 100mpg. We'll have to wait until sometime in the second half of this year to find out what company Raser and FEV are working with and how well this thing really works. Raser does have a contract to supply two such SUVs to PG&E for their test fleet sometime toward the end of 2008.
Ford announced during the 2008 SAE World Congress in Detroit that it's investing a bunch of money in researching nanotechnology for developing paints, plastics, light metals and catalysts that will allow reduced vehicle weight and improved fuel economy. The idea is to use nanoparticles dispersed in existing materials to improve properties of those materials.
Examples of this technology are potential new alloys that could make engines lighter, or a thermally sprayed nano-coating that could replace the heavier cast iron liners that provide the necessary wear resistance of cylinder bores in aluminum block engines. Then there's improved surface coating for the vehicle's sheetmetal and nanotechnology in lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells.
I took a ride this morning through downtown Detroit in a 30+ mpg Equinox. Originally, the 2005 Equinox got 25 mpg on the highway and 19 in the city. Two Michigan Technological University seniors represented their school at a ride and drive event at GM's headquarters for the Challenge X while the SAE Congress was going on down the street at Cobo Hall. Todd Cimermancic, team leader, and Doug Sarsen, who is in charge of the powertrain, have both been working on the MTU vehicle since this Challenge X began three years ago and were great guides to explain how a group of just over a dozen student (it's fluctuated through the years) has gotten a 30 percent fuel economy increase out of a 2005 Chevy Equinox for the low price of $250,000. Actually, that's how much money has been put into the SUV all together through the years and includes the $300 roof art.
The MTU team decided that reducing weight was the best way to increase mpg, and added lightweight rear seats and polycarbonate windows to shave off a few pounds. The vehicle also has a gas engine that powers the front wheels and a 55 kW electric motor on the rear wheels. With regenerative braking, the Equinox achieves a 30 percent mpg bump, one of GM's original goals for Challenge X. The MTU team has been having trouble with the emissions part of the Challenge, but Cimermancic said he was confident that they'd hit the 30 percent reduction goal with the latest iteration of the system. We'll know the final results when Challenge X ends next month in Washington, D.C. For now, check out our video of this morning's ride after the jump. These kids are pros on camera.
Gallery: SAE 2008: MTU's Challenge X hybrid Equinox
Like Rhodia, another name that is new to the AutoblogGreen pages is IAV, a global auto industry player that has been operating in North America since 1998. IAV's president, Utz Beister sat down with AutoblogGreen for a few minutes to talk about where the company is today and how they're helping the OEMs calibrate new powerplants to get the most efficient engines possible into new vehicles. IAV's main business in Michigan is to test various engines in their dynometers. With the industry moving toward more and more diesel and hybrid powertrians, IAV's new Powertrain Test Facility that will open in Northville Township, Michigan later this year or in early 2009, is being set up to be able to test these gasoline alternatives.
Of course, there are a lot of engine testing facilities in the Detroit area, and Beister said that being able to test engines that don't use gasoline on their dynos will set them apart. The dedicated hybrid powertrain dyno, for example, can test the ICE, the electric motor and the transmission. Beister couldn't give many details about what IAV has tested in the past or what they're working on now, but did say that IAV worked on GM's hybrid powertrain and integrating a VW diesel engine into a Chrysler vehicle.
In Germany, IAV has commissioned the first hydrogen dyno, and the new North American technical center has room to expand up to four more dynos. A hydrogen dynometer is quite likely, Beister said. Listen for yourself by clicking play, below.
The Rhodia name might not get tossed around on AutoblogGreen much, but a lot of OEMs know what the company is all about. At this week's SAE World Congress in Detroit, Rhodia demonstrated its three pronged approach to making vehicles cleaner and we stopped to take a look. Rhodia's methods use advanced thermalplastics instead of metals on under-the-hood components to save weight, a high-heat inline diesel particulate filter and low-rolling resistance tires that use evenly-distributed silica.
We spoke with Frederic Hebert, plastics engineering North American zone product line manager, and the themalplastics are what he knew most about. Hebert said that using the thermal plastics wouldn't just save weight in a vehicle - and get the corresponding fuel gains - but Rhodia's products are also cheaper than traditional metals. In his estimation, thermal plastics would usually cost between 50 and 75 percent less than metal. The DPF was developed with Inergy, and uses 1.7 liters of Eolys additive to clean the exhaust for 250,000 kms. Listen to Hebert in the audio clip below and check out the Rhodia display in the gallery.
There are a lot of booths here at the SAE World Congress that's going on in Detroit this week that promote one county or another. Poland's got one. There's a French diesel consortium something or other (will be looking into that tomorrow). And then there's the Mexico booth. This booth happens to be near where a mean-looking G.I. Joe toy vehicle called the HY-DRA is parked on the Cobo Hall floor. Not quite sure if anyone over in the Mexico booth is worried at all.
In any case, the vehicle in the foreground and on display in the gallery below is technically called the Hybrid-Defense Recon Assault. The military ride - built in collaboration with Bluwav, Raytheon, Tuscon Embedded Systems and A123 Systems - uses a 5.1 kWh, 316V lithium-ion battery and four 46 kW hub motors that generate 250 hp. Those numbers are enough to move the beast from 0-60 in six seconds and offer an "All Electric (Stealth) Attack Mode" of 75 mph. The HY-DRA has an all-electric range of just 15.5 miles (25 km) and gets 35 mpg when used in series hybrid mode. Watch out.
During a panel discussion at the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress in Detroit today, a group of industry executives projected that diesel engines with grab 20 percent market share in the US by the end of the next decade. BorgWarner CEO Tim Manganello also projected that hybrid powertrains would grab about ten percent of total sales in that same time frame. Toyota Engineering VP Ed Mantey and Ford Product Development VP Derrick Kuzak were were in agreement with those numbers. At their current rate, Toyota alone might be selling a pretty large percentage of those hybrids. While diesel engines are less expensive to produce than hybrids diesel, fuel prices are currently quite a bit higher than gasoline in the U.S. Increased availability of biodiesel in the coming decade may alleviate that problem. It's not clear what percentage of vehicles will end up in both categories as the 35mpg US CAFE standard approaches.
One nice thing about cars destined for expo floors is the fancy paint they sometimes get. The Mahinrda & Mahindra Scorpio hybrid SUV has been given such a treatment, as we discovered at the SAE World Congress in Detroit today. We'll be sitting down with Mahindra later this week to learn more about the introduction of this full parallel hybrid that uses a 30kW electric motor and a 2.3kWh nickel metal hydride battery and should be on sale in the U.S. in 2010. For now, here's what the SUV looks like. Whaddya think?
Seems like AutoblogGreen's been on to something these last couple of years as it relates to the greening of the automotive industry. For the first time in fourteen years, the annual DuPont Automotive/SAE survey of OEM and supplier designers and engineers, conducted by Consumer Insights, Inc, found that environmental concerns topped cost as the biggest hurdle automakers must overcome.
Other highlights:
Fifty-four percent of respondents say that fuel efficient vehicles with reduced environmental impact are important to consumers -- that number seems a bit low to us.
For the fifth consecutive year, alternatively powered vehicles are predicted to have the greatest impact on the industry.
Fifty percent of respondents see diesel engine technology as a key focus to help achieve 2020 efficiency regulations, compared with forty-six percent for hybrids
In 10 years, most people predict the majority of vehicles will run on bio-based diesel fuel (27 percent); petroleum-based diesel (20 percent) and E85 (20 percent). Only 18 percent predict gasoline will dominate.
Diesels look to make a strong impact on the American market, according to this survey. We see no real mention of electric cars here, which we believe could makea a big impact in the coming years.
About a month ago, we spoke with Dr. Prabhakar Patil of Compact Power, Inc. 
Seems like AutoblogGreen's been on to something these last couple of years as it relates to the greening of the automotive industry. For the first time in fourteen years, the annual DuPont Automotive/SAE survey of OEM and supplier designers and engineers, conducted by Consumer Insights, Inc, found that environmental concerns topped cost as the biggest hurdle automakers must overcome. 
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