Vehicle Projects Through the Years at GE Steinmetz Electric Car, 1914

Also known as the Detroit Electric Car, this was a pure electric vehicle that was built as an alternative to gasoline powered vehicles. Able to reach a top speed of 40 miles per hour the Steinmetz Car was powered by fourteen, six-volt batteries. Steinmetz, the founder of GE’s research lab, was a pioneer in electrification technology and responsible for many of the fundamental breakthroughs that enabled the modern day electrical grid. In 1920 he went on to found the Brooklyn Car Company with the vision of setting up a network of vehicle grid stations for re- charging electric cars. GE-100, 1977 Hybrid Test Vehicle, 1982 (GE/Volkswagon/U.S. Department of Energy)

Produced around the time technologies at the time, Following the late ’70s built and demonstrated in hybrid cars. This five- of GE’s centennial an- the GE-100 featured an energy crisis, this collabo- a Hybrid Test Vehicle. passenger full-size luxury niversary, the GE-100 was electric motor and indus- ration produced a vehicle Running off a combina- sedan was equipped with a four passenger compact trial drives and controls, designed to minimize tion gasoline engine and air conditioning, power electric vehicle whose installed with upgraded petroleum use. Partner- electric motor, GE’s HTVs steering, breaks, spa- production was driven commercially available ing with Volkswagon were truly a vision of the cious seats, windows and by the innovative spirit of batteries, and completed Research and the U.S. future, as they ran similar achieved over 100 miles GE’s first 100 years. Show- with Lexan windows and Department of Energy, GE to today’s emerging plug- per gallon! casing the greatest GE lighting.

Electric Test Vehicle-1, 1978 ETX-I, 1984 (GE/Chrysler/U.S. Department of Energy) (GE/Ford/U.S. Department of Energy)

The Pure Electric Test acid batteries and GE The ETX-1 pure electric car rent (DC) technology. The Vehicle (ETV1) was a joint traction motor/drive was a joint partnership ETX-1’s compact high- project featuring GE tech- and controls develop- that embodied the two- speed induction motor nology and an automotive ments, ETV-1 was the first passenger Ford Mercury and automatic two-speed body design by Chrysler. ground-up modern day LN-7 model. GE developed transmission was the first Using commercial lead electric vehicle design. alternating current (AC) model with AC technology technology that replaced packaged in a modern previously used direct cur- front wheel drive vehicle. ETX-II, 1984 Hybrid Bus, 1996 (GE/Ford/U.S. Department of Energy) (GE/Orion/Federal Transit Administration)

GE followed up the ETX-I the ETX-II also had a 75 The GE hybrid bus, cre- that it was technically with the ETX-II just a year horsepower motor, high ated in partnership with feasible to greatly reduce later, this time using a temperature battery, and Orion and the Federal fuel emissions in a transit larger model Ford Aero- introduced a rear-wheel Transit Administration bus. It paved the way for star van. Again pow- drive compact powered was developed to address today’s hybrid buses and ered with an automatic axle and interior perma- the issue of fuel emis- established the emissions two-speed transmission, nent magnet (IPM) system. sions in urban areas. This requirements for New York bus was the first to show City’s hybrid transit buses.

MEVP, 1989–1993 Electric Bus, 2003 (GE/Ford/U.S. Department of Energy) (GE/Electric Fuel Corporation/Federal Transit Administration)

Created in partnership featured a pure electric the Ford International Developed with the Fed- into a high efficiency, high mile driving range on a with Ford and the U.S. De- motor with a high-speed Electric Vehicle Program eral Transit Administration performance low cost single charge. This project partment of Energy, MEVP induction motor, which Demonstration. More than (FTA) and Electric Fuel system. By intelligently established fundamental used a GE motor and was incorporated into a 100 MEVP vehicles were Corporation, the electric managing power flowing principles of GE’s dual bat- AC propulsion system con- single-speed transaxle built and tested through- bus brought zinc-air, NiCd, into and from the various tery concepts. trols. This Modular Electric configuration. The MEVP out the world. and ultracapacitor energy batteries, GE’s electric Vehicle Program (MEVP) was first used as part of storage devices together bus can achieve a 130- OHV, 2007 Hybrid Locomotive, 2007 (GE/U.S. Department of Energy/Komatsu) (GE/U.S. Department of Energy)

This power system runs with a 600 hp battery pack This hybrid diesel-electric locomotive captures energy that captures braking energy to save fuel and increase dissipated during braking and stores it in a series of lead- productivity. An off-highway vehicle, also known as a free rechargeable batteries that allow operators to draw haul truck, is used for open pit mining operations and an additional 2,000 horsepower when needed. Designed GE’s new hybrid systems provide a path towards lower to emit half as much nitrogen oxide as locomotives built operational costs and lower emissions. 20 years ago, the hybrid locomotive also reduces fuel consumption and emissions by 10 percent. LWFC Bus, 2011 (GE/Federal Transit Administration/Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium/A123)

Building on the electric bus project of 2003, GE again is working with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to advance electric propulsion for transit applications. The dual battery system will combine advanced high energy and high power density batteries. A demonstration is planned for 2011 using a lightweight bus platform powered by a hydrogen fuel cell for efficient, zero tailpipe emission operation. 20080513-1