Plug-In

General Motors opened this week what’s being called the largest battery factory in the U.S.  But before we start to analyze the numbers, let's first get them all listed: The new Global Battery Systems Lab is located at the Warren Technical Center campus on the outskirts of Detroit. According to information coming from the company, it cost GM $25 million to construct, takes up 33,000 square feet, and employs over 1,000 engineers. The facility will operate 42 thermal chambers and 160 test channels ... Discover More

Questions loom over the fate of the Chevy Volt as General Motors prepares to file for bankruptcy tomorrow, June 1st 2009.    Based on GM's worldwide assets of $91 billion and liabilities of $176 billion, the bankruptcy would be  the third largest in U.S. history, behind Lehman Brothers and Worldcom. There have been several prominent speculations over whether GM will abandon its plug-in program.   Keith Johnson, writing for the Wall Street Journal, has come out saying he believes the Volt will be ... Discover More

One of the thorniest issues facing the mass adoption of electric-only vehicles is the time it takes to charge them – plugging in for a couple hours seems cumbersome for anyone wanting to drive more than just to work and back. There have been several solutions proposed, such as waiting for advances in battery technology, battery-swapping stations, and improving charging standards and infrastructure. A group of engineers in South Korea, however, have proposed and tested an idea ... Discover More

The American Clean Energy and Security Act, also known as H.R. 2354, was opened up for amendments and debate today in Congress.  The legislation is meant to introduce  measures that increase energy efficiency, deploy green technology, and transition the country away from fossil-fuel dependence. The Bill mandates utilities to begin development of plans that support electric vehicle infrastructure and standards for incorporating their integration with a smart power grid.   It also authorizes the Secretary of Energy to provide financial assistance for the ... Discover More

You might call them swapping stations, battery cell replacement stations, charging stations or any combination of the above. The important thing is, we will be talking about them soon: there's a $400 million startup company, and billions of dollars in capital set aside by its partners, who are all banking on it.   Their idea?   The future, as they see it, is one where drivers will be provided with ultra-cheap cars and then billed by the mile/kilometer as they move around. ... Discover More

Called "The Business of Plugging In", the conference will be held from October 19-21 at the MotorCity Hotel and Conference Center.  It will bring together various interest groups to discuss the future of plug-in electric vehicles. "This conference will foster the dialogue among utilities, automakers, regulators, universities and other stakeholders to assess the environmental impacts of PEVs and to assist with the understanding of how widespread adoption of electric vehicles will impact the electric system," said Al Fields of DTE, an energy company. An ... Discover More

The United States Council for Automotive Research is set to formulate new standards for the high-voltage wiring and connections in plug-in automobiles.   The alliance, which includes Chrysler LLC, Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corporation,  will be meeting to discuss the details at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) conference in Detroit  on April 20-23. The new standards will cover specifications for systems running up to 400V, replacing the old standards for wiring capacities of only 20V.   This will allow plug-in ... Discover More

Toyota has announced that it will be releasing about 100 plug-in hybrids in France in a serious effort to optimize its battery technology and learn more about the infrastructure requirements of a large-scale deployment.   EDF Energy, one of the UK's largest energy companies, will monitor all operational aspects of the charging process, taking into account safety, communication between the plug and the vehicle, vehicle identification as well as energy consumption. EDF, along with its subsidiary, Electricité de Strasbourg, will also be setting ... Discover More

Here is the breakdown for the funding released by the Obama initiative: $2 billion from the stimulus plan pushed through earlier in the year is set aside for electric-vehicle production. Out of that package, $1.5 billion is for battery manufacturing within the U.S. The remaining $500 million is slated for related technologies that compliment these vehicles, such as electric motors. The Department of Energy (DOE) is setting aside a further $400 million for the infrastructure of plug-in automobiles. One of the stated goals of these ... Discover More

With one of the biggest challenges of mass-adoption of plug-in vehicles being the possibility of overloaded power grids, many utilitily companies feel that they already have the solution: Install upgraded transformers in areas where the demand for electric vehicles is the highest, and charge consumers different rates according to peak hours of demand. Pacific Gas & Electric is already implementing a tiered system, charging electric car owners 5 cents per kilowatt hour between midnight and 7 a.m., and 30 cents per kilowatt hour ... Discover More

It's not just the U.S. and multinational automobile CEOs, the advertising executives and car dealerships, the auto magazines and the eager consumers that are anticipating the shift from gas-powered engines to battery-powered electric vehicles, but nationwide, power companies see the upcoming change as a great opportunity, as well as a need for adjustments. The major boon that a surge of plug-ins bring to utilities is as follows:  Their "surplus" power, which is all those electrons that their power sources produce and send through ... Discover More