Argonne teams with industry to promote PHEV R&D
ARGONNE, Ill. (Nov. 12, 2007) — The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne
National Laboratory has teamed up with several industrial partners, including
some of America's largest automakers, to promote research and development of
plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Plug-in hybrids could revolutionize
the automotive industry because, unlike conventional hybrid cars, they have
the potential to run largely on electricity.
Argonne's collaboration with industry on PHEV technology complements a recently
announced DOE initiative that provides nearly $20 million to further development
of advanced batteries for hybrid technology.
In order to assist with this mission, Argonne has assumed a leading role in
PHEV vehicle systems research, according to Glenn Keller, vehicle systems section
leader. The technical expertise and facilities that Argonne possesses have
enticed both well established and up-and-coming players in the automotive industry
to seek out the laboratory as a partner for PHEV research, he said.
Some of the companies that have leveraged Argonne's expertise in PHEV technology
include: General Motors, Ford,and
A123Systems. In addition, Mike Duoba, mechanical engineer in Argonne's Transportation
Technology R&D Center (TTRDC), chairs
a committee of the Society of
Automotive Engineers (SAE) dedicated to determining
test procedures for establishing mileage estimates for PHEVs.
PHEV fuel economy benchmarking
PHEVs are hybrid electric vehicles that contain a battery that can be recharged
using a standard 110-volt electrical outlet. Like conventional hybrids, PHEVs
use both a battery-powered motor and a gasoline-powered engine. Unlike conventional
vehicles, whose estimated mileage varies based on how aggressively the car
is driven, plug-in hybrids can get dramatically better mileage with lower daily
use. Under certain circumstances – usually in city driving with a full charge – a
PHEV could get an astronomical mileage because it would run almost exclusively
on battery power. For longer commutes or long-distance trips, a PHEV
would have mileage closer to that of a traditional hybrid vehicle, Duoba explained. "We
have to come up with some sort of standard yardstick with which to make comparisons."
Most car owners, of course, will drive more on some days than others, and
so car companies need to calculate mileage approximations that will reflect
the hybrid's average performance under actual driving conditions. In order
to determine these guidelines, the SAE turned to Duoba and his colleagues in
the vehicle systems section to develop a test procedure for determining advertised
fuel economy.
Because the SAE includes representatives from the Environmental
Protection Agency and automakers in the United States, Europe and Japan, "the
chances are that the test procedures that we develop at Argonne will be adopted
as the industry-wide recommended practice for determining what the labeled
fuel economy is going to be," Keller said.
"I've asked a number of engineers from automakers, even people I've just
met,'what do you benchmark your results to? Whose data do you use?'" Duoba
added. " I continue to be surprised as I learn that more and more engineers
in the auto industry are using Argonne data."
Advanced battery system testing
Argonne's transportation researchers have not only developed fuel economy
test procedure industry standards, but they have also used them to run tests
on new components and vehicles manufactured by pioneering companies. One of
these companies, A123Systems, enlisted Argonne's help in testing its new PHEV
Toyota Prius aftermarket retro-fit module based upon their lithium-ion batteries.
Researchers in the TTRDC have assessed these packs in a vehicle under various
driving conditions, providing a solid performance result that the company will
use to market their product and compare to any future advancements.
The access to top-of-the-line equipment and technical knowledge that the laboratory
provides makes Argonne a valuable partner for industry leaders. "We have
the expertise to talk to them on a formal but impartial basis," Keller said.
"We can tell them what we see that's good, what we see that's bad. We can give
them professional hints and suggestions, and we're a source for quality data
that they can depend on and use us for their energy sources."
A123's Chief Executive Officer, David Vieau, said that Argonne offers an independent,
trustworthy validation of his company's products, filling a critical need that
will enable to commercialization of new technology. "The work you are
doing is pivotal in showing that the plug-in future is viable."
The research was funded by DOE's Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Vehicle
Technologies Program.
Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology.
The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic
and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne
researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities,
and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific
problems, advance America 's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for
a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed
by UChicago
Argonne, LLC for
the U.S.
Department of Energy's Office
of Science.
By Jared Sagoff.
For more information, please contact Angela Hardin (630/252-5501
or ahardin@anl.gov) at Argonne.
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