Publications

Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle R&D Plan, External Draft

2/1/2007

The U.S. Department of Energy is supporting the development of hybrid vehicles that have the ability to operate in botn electrical/mechanical and electric-only modes recharging from a standard electric outlet. This is in line with President Bush's challenge of technology that would allow 40 miles electric range, enough to satisfy approximately 70 percent of daily U.S. travel. In May 2006, the FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technology Program convened a 2-day meeting to discuss a path forward. This report is the external draft of the research & development plan for the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle program.

Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit)Fuel Cell Transit Buses: Preliminary Results

2/1/2007

This report includes preliminary evaluation results on three prototype fuel cell-powered transit buses operating at AC Transit in Oakland, California, since March 2006 and 6 baseline diesel buses that are similar in design to the fuel cell business. This report describes the equipment used and provides early experience details, lessons learned, and early experience details.

Authors: Chandler, K.; Eudy, L.

Performance of Automotive Fuel Cell Systems with Nanostructured Thin Film Catalysts

1/1/2007

Cost and durability are generally regarded as the major challenges to commercialization of fuel cells. Size, weight, and system complexity are also important barriers to adoption of fuel cells in light duty vehicles. In addition, thermal and water management for fuel cells are outstanding issues. Fuel cell operation at lower temperatures creates a small difference between the operating and ambient temperatures, necessitating large heat exchangers. Fuel and air feed streams need to be humidified for proper operation of fuel cells. In this paper, we evaluate the prospects of overcoming the barriers of cost, durability, weight, volume, thermal management, and water management by using nanostructured thin film catalysts (NTFCs) in membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) In laboratory tests, the NSTF catalysts have shown significantly enhanced stability against surface area loss from Pt dissolution when compared to conventional Pt/C dispersed catalysts under both accelerated voltage cycling from 0.6 to 1.2 V and real-time start stop cycles. Also NSTF catalyst support-whiskers have shown total resistance to corrosion when held at potentials up to 1.5 V for 3 hours.

Authors: Ahluwalia, R.; Wang, X.; Lasher, S.; Sinha, J.; Yang, Y.; Sriramulu, S.

Tackling Climate Change in the U.S.: Potential Carbon Emissions Reductions from Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by 2030

1/1/2007

Energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies have the potential to provide most, if not all, of the U.S. carbon emissions reductions that will be needed to help limit the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide to 450 to 500 ppm. The document includes a section on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. This section focuses on plug-in hybrid electric vehicle technology, which adds additional battery capacity and charging capability to current hybrid electric vehicle technology. Plug-in vehicles thereby make possible substantial vehicle operation on energy derived from the electrical grid rather than from gasoline.

Authors: Kutscher, C., Editor; Lilienthal,P.; Brown, H.

The Evolution of Powertrain Technology 2008 and Beyond: Engines, Hybrids, Battery Electric, Fuel Cells, Transmissions

1/1/2007

The objectives of this study were to provide automotive suppliers and OEMs with a set of plausible alternatives that cover the future vehicle market, crude oil prices, regulatory and business environment; provide an assessment of benefits and costs of various powertrain technologies; identify the technical and market barriers that must be overcome to bring these technologies to market; provide a forecast of the potential market share of these technologies.

Authors: Gott, P.; Linna, J-R; Mello, J.

Fuel Permeation from Automotive Systems: E0, E6, E10, E20 and E85

12/1/2006

An earlier CRC report (CRC Project E-65) investigated the effects of three different fuels on the permeation rates of the fuel systems from 10 different California vehicles, covering model years from 1978 to 2001. As a result of that study, four issues were identified for further study in the present report: (1) investigate permeation characteristics of "near zero" evaporative emission control systems scheduled for California in MY 2004 and later; (2) determine if changes in ethanol content affect permeation levels; (3) establish the permeation effects of E85 in a flexible fuel vehicle; (4) determine if permeation rates are sensitive to changes in aromatics content of the fuel.

Authors: Haskew, H.M.; Libery, T.F.; McClement, D.

Technology Roadmap for the 21st Century Truck Program A Government-Industry Research Partnership

12/1/2006

The 21st Century Truck Program will support the development and implementation of commercially viable technologies that will dramatically cut fuel use and emissions of commercial trucks and buses while enhancing their safety and affordability as well as maintaining or enhancing performance. The innovations resulting from this program will reduce dependence on foreign oil, improve our nation's air quality, provide advanced technology for military vehicles, and enhance the competitiveness of the U.S. truck and bus industry while ensuring safe and affordable freight and bus transportation for the nation's economy. The 21st Century Truck Program's goals and research objectives are to; improve fuel efficiency, reduce emissions, enhance safety, reduce total owning and operating costs, and maintain or enhance performance. The partnership's federal component is led by the U.S. Department of Energy in cooperation with the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Office of Management and Budget. Other participating federal agencies are the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The federal government brings to the table its resources for research and development, including the capabilities resident in government laboratories. The industrial participants of the partnership are truck and bus manufacturers, their suppliers, and their trade associations.

The Long-Run Impact of Corn-Based Ethanol on the Grain, Oilseed, and Livestock Sectors: A Preliminary Assessment

11/1/2006

The ongoing growth of corn-based ethanol production raises some fundamental questions about the impact of continued growth on U.S. and world agricultural markets. Estimates of the long-run potential for ethanol production can be made by calculating the corn price at which the incentive to expand ethanol production disappears. Under current ethanol tax policy, if the prices of crude oil, natural gas, and distillers grains stay at current levels, then the break-even corn price is $4.05 per bushel.At this price, corn-based ethanol production would reach 31.5 billion gallons per year, or about 20% of projected U.S. fuel consumption in 2015. Supporting this level of production would require 95.6 million acres of corn to be planted. Total corn production would be approximately 15.6 billion bushels, compared to 11.0 billion bushels today. Most of the additional corn acres come from reduced soybean acreage. Corn exports and production of pork and poultry would all be reduced in response to higher corn prices and increased utilization of corn by ethanol plants. These results are not to be viewed as a prediction of what will eventually happen. Rather, they indicate a logical end point to the current incentives to invest in corn-based ethanol plants.

Authors: Elobeid, A.; Tokgoz, S.; Hayes, D.J.; Babcock, B.A.; Hart, C.E.

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and San Mateo County Transit District Fuel Cell Transit Buses: Evaluation Results

11/1/2006

This report provides evaluation results of prototype fuel cell transit buses operating at Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in San Jose, California. VTA has been operating three fuel cell transit buses in extra revenue service since February 28, 2005. The report includes 17 months of performance data on three 40-ft. Gillig buses with a fuel cell system by Ballard Power Systems. The report also outlines the overall experience for the transit agency and its project partners in demonstrating these zero-emission buses. The analysis in this report reflects the prototype status of these vehicles. There is no intent to consider the implementation of these fuel cell buses as commercial (or full revenue transit service. The evaluation focuses on documenting progress and opportunities for improving the vehicles, infrastructure, and procedures.

Authors: Chandler, K.; Eudy, L.

Cost-Benefit Analysis of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Technology

10/23/2006

This paper presents a comparison of vehicle purchase and energy costs, and fuel-saving benefits of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles relative to hybrid electric and conventional vehicles.

Authors: Simpson, A.

Dynamic Programming Applied to Investigate Energy Management Strategies for a Plug-In HEV.

10/23/2006

This paper explores two basic plug-in hybrid electric vehicle energy management strategies: an electric vehicle centric control strategy and an engine-motor blended control strategy.

Authors: O'Keefe, M.P.; Markel, T.

100,000 Mile Evaluation of Transit Buses Operated on Biodiesel Blends (B20)

10/1/2006

Report evaluates the emissions, fuel economy, and maintenance of five 40-foot transit buses operated on B20 compared to four buses operated on petroleum diesel.

Authors: Proc, K.; Barnitt, R.; Hayes, R.; Ratcliff, M.; McCormick, R.; Ha, L.; Fang, H.

Model Year 2007: Alternative Fuel and Advanced Technology Vehicles

10/1/2006

This document provides facts and figures for all model year 2007 alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles (including hybrid electric cars) available to fleet buyers and the general public.

US10 Capable Prototype Volvo MG11 Natural Gas Engine Development: Final Report

10/1/2006

This project was designed to develop a low emissions natural gas engine. The emission targets for this project were 0.27 g/kW-hr (0.2 g/bhp-hr) of NOx and 0.013 g/kW-hr (0.01 g/bhp-hr) of particulate matter. To meet the objective, a chemically correct (stoichiometric) combustion, natural gas engine with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and a three-way catalyst was development. In addition to low emissions, diesel-like efficiencies were targeted trough the use of a Sturman camless Hydraulic Actuated Valve (HVA) system.

Authors: Tai, C.; Reppert, T.; Chiu, J.; Christensen, L.; Knoll, K.; Stewart, J.

Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, October 2006

10/1/2006

The October 2006 Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report is a quarterly report keeping you up to date on the prices of alternative fuels in the U.S. and their relation to gasoline and diesel prices. This issue discusses prices that were gathered from Clean Cities coordinators and stakeholders in September and October 2006, and then averaged in order to determine regional price trends by fuel and variability in fuel price within regions and among regions. The prices collected for this report represent retail, at-the-pump sales prices for each fuel, including Federal and state motor fuel taxes.

Table 1 illustrates that alternative fuel prices relative to conventional fuels vary, with some (propane and biodiesel) higher and some (E85 and CNG) lower. CNG is about 45 cents less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis, while E85 is about 11 cents less per gallon than gasoline.

Authors: Laughlin, M.D.