BATTERY POWERED VEHICLES: DON’T RULE THEM OUT

Jerry Mader, Deputy Director1 Transportation Energy Center (TEC) University of November 16, 2006

ELECTRIC VEHICLE HISTORY: A TALE OF FALSE STARTS Electric vehicles (EV) are powered exclusively by a battery that is recharged from the electric utility grid. In every decade or so, like in today’s energy climate where prices have risen dramatically, policymakers and the public become aroused by the prospect of battery-powered vehicles. Although EVs sound like an unusual concept in today’s internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle world, EVs have been around for about 170 years. The first EV was invented way back in the 1830s and, when battery storage improved later in the 19th Century, EVs began to flourish. In fact, in the early part of the 20th Century, EVs outsold ICE vehicles because they were easier to start, quieter and not as smelly as gasoline cars. But, as roads improved and, with the discovery of crude oil in Texas, the gasoline cars took over. Later in the last century, the U.S. petroleum crisis of the 1970s was an event that spurred interest in the development of EVs. In 1976, Congress passed Public Law 94-413 that mandated the introduction of 10,000 EVs on U.S. roads in five years. However, U.S. policymakers’ enthusiasm for EVs soon dissipated and petroleum substitution strategies were supplanted by policies to support OPEC2 countries that would keep oil flow to the United States.

The 1990s brought yet another policy initiative that focused considerable attention on market introduction of EVs. In September 1990, the Air Resources Board (CARB) enacted the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate that required manufacturers to sell 2% EVs in 1998, ramping up to 10% in 2003. The ZEV Mandate was very unpopular with automotive manufacturers, especially , Ford and . These companies complained that a government should not mandate a vehicle technology, but that its acceptance should be based on market forces. Eventually, General Motors sued the state of California over this issue and, as a result, the ZEV Mandate was modified to incorporate other vehicle technologies that could reduce emissions, such as hybrid electrics and hydrogen-powered cars. Although the California ZEV Mandate failed to create a sustainable EV market, it did have a dramatic impact on accelerating the development of battery and technology.

Today, as we are entering the 21st Century, the battery-powered vehicle still holds the promise for future widespread use. And, our battery-powered future should be driven more on the technical progress in battery storage and less on the wishful thinking of government policymakers.

IT’S THE BATTERY STUPID In our current world where laptop computers and cell phones are commonplace, several articles found on Google use the title, Electric Auto Association “It’s the battery stupid” However, this phrase was first used a http://www.eaaev.org/History/index.html decade ago when referring to difficulties in introducing EVs

1 This paper is the third in a series of white papers written by Mr. Mader for policymakers and media representatives who are interested in energy related topics. His other papers are: “Michigan’s Energy Future: It’s too soon to panic,” December 2005, and The U.S. Petroleum Addiction: Is it Hopeless?,” May 2006. This paper, as well as the two others are available electronically at: www.engin.umich.edu/research/tec 2 Currently, OPEC is comprised of Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela 1 Is the Dead? into the marketplace. Although a somewhat crass way of putting it, the key problem in EV development has On June 28, 2006, a documentary film directed always been the performance, life and cost of available by Chris Paine was battery technology. Way back in the late 1970s, the released entitled, “Who U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funded programs Killed the Electric Car?” that explored a variety of battery options, including lead-acid (Pb-acid), nickle-Iron (NiFe), sodium-sulfur This film is in the genre of a murder mystery where the “bad (NaS), silver-zinc (AgZn), Nickel zinc (NiZn), zinc guys” are the (especially General Motors), the oil industry, weak consumers and, of course, the federal bromide (ZnBr), nickel-cadmium (NiCd), and zinc-air government. The story is told around an electric car, the EV1, th (ZnAir). But, as the 20 Century came to a close, only which was introduced in California by General Motors in 1996 to the Pb-acid battery had survived as a bonafide cost- fulfill the CARB ZEV Mandate. Some prominent members of the competitive option for EV propulsion. Nevertheless, entertainment industry, such as Phyllis Diller, and during the 1990s, nickel metal hydride (NiMH) and Martin Sheen, as well as a number of California’s most vocal lithium-ion (Li-Ion) batteries began to receive advocates for EVs have cameo appearances in the movie. One quote from the movie pretty much sums up its major theme, considerable attention from battery developers that “The murder was committed by the General Motors Company,” viewed the EV market in California as a viable entry S. David Freeman, former energy advisor to Jimmy Carter. In point. fact, Mr. Freeman has held several executive positions in California’s government agencies over the past 20 years. Criteria for Battery Development Success Battery Life This author has also had over 20 years experience in California, directly involved in the development and commercialization of Batteries are a very challenging technology to EV technologies. I have had personal experiences working with perfect. During the charging phase, they store many California agencies and I have come in contact with many electrons and, during the discharge phase, they of the technical experts shown in this film. In my opinion, the release electrons. This charge/discharge cycle must obvious purpose of this film was to embarrass the automotive be repeated many hundreds of times during the life of industry and to castigate General Motors. Unfortunately, this is a battery without any appreciable loss in battery quite a common motive of California policymakers and politicians. But, the true underlying causes for this unsuccessful function or capacity. In fact, batteries must last up to venture can be summarized as follows: 1,000 cycles to be effective for powering vehicles. In addition to cycle life, a battery must be durable . The EV1s two-passenger sports car design could only enough to last the life of the vehicle, which is usually satisfy a very small market segment. estimated to be about 15 years. Battery life is a very . Small volume production is a very costly proposition for a important success criterion because it has a large automotive company(a total of 1,100 were manufactured over four years). significant impact on vehicle economics. . EV1s were leased at a loss to General Motors of about 100% of the lease cost. Battery Energy . CARB rescinded the ZEV Mandate in 2003, which Another important attribute is energy or specific canceled the regulatory benefits to the manufacturer. energy measured in watt hours per kilogram (Wh/kg). . During the late 1990s, when EV1s were manufactured, The specific energy of a battery translates into the battery technology was too immature. The EV1s reliable range was less than 100 miles. range or miles that a given vehicle can travel. The . The actual battery cost was over $8,000 per car. higher the specific energy of the battery, the greater the range of the vehicle. Although the film, “Who Killed the Electrical Car?” attempts to make a dramatic statement about the failure of the EV1, Battery Power electrics are certainly not dead. As battery technology improves, Battery power, or specific power, measured in watts as manufacturers better understand the unique attributes of EVs and as EV attributes are more closely aligned with market per kilograms (W/kg) is another battery needs, the EV will take it proper place as an important characteristic. Specific power is a measure of the contributor to energy efficiency and pollution reduction. acceleration performance that the battery will deliver.

2 Obviously, good acceleration is an important attribute General Motors EV1, requires about 30 kWh of for vehicle driveability. Electrics exhibit excellent capacity to provide a range of 150 to 250 miles. acceleration because electric motors deliver high Therefore, the battery cost is over $8,200 (30 x torque in an instant. $275), which is impossible to recoup at even $3 per gallon gasoline prices. Electric cars have limited Battery Cost range and higher cost than gasoline cars and are Batteries are made from various metals, such as expected to have these disadvantages for the lithium, nickel, lead, zinc, et al., and manufacturing foreseeable future. complexity varies depending upon the particular battery type. Consequently, the cost of a system can A SCENARIO FOR BATTERY POWER be quite variable. For comparison purposes, battery SUCCESS cost is measured in terms of dollars per kilowatt hour A battery is inherently a range limited power source. ($/kWh). A battery’s cost and its life will determine For example, a gallon of gas has about 65 times the its economic feasibility. energy as an equivalent volume NiMH battery. Another way of viewing this is that a typical battery Battery Comparison pack is equal to one gallon of gasoline on an energy content basis. This is a key reason why consumers Battery Comparison Chart3 will have a difficult time accepting the all-battery- Pb-acid NIMH Li-Ion powered electric car. The range limitation stifles the Specific energy 30-35 70 150 flexibility to which car drivers are accustomed. Why (wh/kg) even bother using battery power to propel a vehicle? Specific power (w/kg) 300 200 400 The simple answer lies in finding applications Cost ($/KWh) 80 265 275 suitable for a battery’s attributes while minimizing the range limitation issue. The chart above compares the energy, power and cost of Pb-acid, NiMH and Li-Ion batteries. Inner City Fleet Vehicles There are literally hundreds of thousands of vehicles In comparing energy, the chart shows that there is a that travel less than 60 miles per day on fixed routes doubling of energy for NIMH compared to Pb-acid in cities all across the country. These vehicles are and a doubling again for Li-Ion. This means that for a well suited for all battery power because they have to given vehicle, the Li-Ion powered car will go about endure frequent stops, return each night to a central twice as far as the NiMH car and more than four location and are used in high pollution areas. These times as far as the Pb-acid car. Although the power of fleet vehicles, both buses and vans, are ideally suited these batteries are somewhat comparable, the cost of for electrification because frequent stops assist 4 Pb-acid is significantly lower, about 30%, than the battery range . Since the vehicles return to a central other two systems. But in this case, the cost is misleading because the Pb-acid battery has about 30% of the life of the other systems, so the total battery cost is equivalent because three Pb-acid batteries will be needed during the life of the vehicle. And it is this cost issue that has significantly contributed to the infeasibility of the electric car. For example, for the Li-Ion batteries, an EV, like the 4 All battery-powered vehicles use drives and the electric motor can assist in braking when the motor is reversed. This function, called regenerative braking, takes 3 Extracted data found in “Advanced-Batteries for Electric energy from the wheels and puts it back into the battery. Vehicles: An Assessment of Performance, Cost and Regenerative braking can add from 10-20% back into the Availability,” Kalhammer, et al., 2000, California Air battery, thereby, increasing the range accordingly. Resources Board 3 location, their batteries can be recharged at night at These vehicles still have a price premium of up to significantly reduce electricity rate for off-peak $4,000 when compared with a comparable gasoline charging. Also, because fleet vehicles are used in vehicle but this difference should diminish as urban areas, each of their miles significantly impacts manufacturing volume increases. pollution, so electrification has the more positive affect on pollution reduction than for suburban travel. 5

Hybrid Electric Vehicles The most appropriate application for battery power in passenger vehicles is the hybrid electric. Hybrid GM EV11 electrics use a combination of a combustion engine The Plug-in Hybrid Solution and battery drive. Battery power is primarily used in stop-and-go city driving and the combustion engine is The plug-in hybrid is a hybrid electric with a larger battery that is recharged from the electric utility grid used more for highway driving. The batteries are rather than from the combustion engine on board the usually recharged by the gasoline engines, except for vehicle. Plug-in hybrids can provide from 20-60 miles, the plug-in hybrids, which are recharged by the utility depending on the size of battery, of electric drive range. grid. At average utility rates, these miles can be driven at an equivalent cost of about 75 cents per gallon. Plug-ins offer utility companies a sustainable market for off peak By far the most successful hybrid electric is offered electricity and consumers a clean low-cost transportation by Toyota. In 2006, about 300,000 hybrids were sold option. worldwide and Toyota accounted for 75% of them. The plug-in hybrid initiative is being lead by the Electric This year, Toyota will sell about 110,000 Prius Power Research Institute (EPRI), an electric utility hybrids in the United States alone. The United States industry collaborative research organization located in will account for more than half of the 1 million Palo Alto, California. It is the brainchild of Dr. Fritz Kalhammer, who established the effort in 1999 but he hybrid cars and light trucks Toyota plans to sell initiated research at EPRI way back in worldwide each year by early next decade. Hybrid 1976. Dr. Kalhammer has been a well-respected leader electrics make more sense as a powertrain option for in battery research for over 30 years. passenger cars than all-electric drive vehicles for the EPRI is collaborating with DiamlerChrysler AG of following reasons: Stuttgart, Germany, to build Dodge plug-in hybrid Sprinter vans. The program is co-sponsored by several 1. A smaller battery (about a third the size) is California government agencies, a California utility and the U.S. Department of Transportation. Four Sprinter required for hybrid, thus, reducing the battery vans are being tested in cities across the United States cost from about $8,000 to $3,000. and there are future plans for 30 to 100 vehicle 2. The gasoline engine in combination with electric demonstrations. drive provide virtually unlimited range and EPRI states the benefits of these plug-in hybrid electric driving flexibility. vehicles (PHEV) as follows: 3. Hybrid batteries last longer because hybrids don’t rely exclusively on battery power. The . Compares to best in class HEV today a PHEV 20- 40 delivers: battery can be used in its optimal regime, 5 o 35-50% reduction in NOx and ROG eliminating deep discharges and extending life. o 45-65% reduction in petroleum o 30-45% reduction in greenhouse gas Most pundits predict a very rosy future for hybrids. . Flex-fuel PHEVs: Both Toyota and Honda are bringing out multiple o An ethanol PHEVs approach petroleum-free hybrid car models, and Ford, General Motors and “zero-carbon” Toyota are offering several hybrid SUVs in 2007. o Beneficial “pairing” plug-in for local urban miles, ethanol as the fuel to extend range

5 Nitric oxide and reactive organic gas 4 A PROMISING BATTERY FUTURE The battery power vehicle future looks very bright, both for hybrid electrics and all battery-powered EVs. Battery technology has continued to improve since the first transportation energy crisis in the 1970s. From this period and into the 1990s, batteries have received a lot of attention from government agencies and technology developers worldwide. The advent of cellular phone and laptop computers has had a dramatic impact on battery use, both here and abroad. Although these smaller devices aren’t exactly scalable for large EV or hybrid battery systems6 they have created a huge market for Li-Ion batteries. Attempts have been made to directly scale up small consumer electronic- type cells for EV use but these systems are fraught with problems because lithium cells can generate heat and even catch on fire. Nevertheless, the success of battery use in the consumer electronics field provides developers with capital for the development of these systems for EVs.

As government regulators and other policymakers understand the true value of the battery powered EV, more and more initiatives will focus on the urban fleet vehicle where the disadvantage of limited range is overcome by centralized fleet applications, where vehicles are returned to the same location each night. Finally, battery power has found a “beachhead” in the hybrids. These models will continue to be attractive as consumers face relatively expensive gasoline prices for the foreseeable future. As more battery powered vehicles are sold, battery manufacturing volumes will increase, allowing for further cost reductions and performance improvements. Rest assured that batteries will be an important contributor to our transportation energy future.

6 Batteries used in consumer electronic devices, like laptops, typically use lithium battery cells rated at about 2.0 amp-hours or 8.4 watt-hours (Whr) and the battery pack delivers about 60 Whrs of energy. An EV requires about 30KWhr or about 500 times the energy. One EV developer in California, AC Propulsion, uses 7,000 Li-Ion cells to propel its EV.

5 REFERENCES

Anderman, Menahem, Fritz kalhammer, et al., “Advanced Batteries for Electric Vehicles: An Assessment of Performance, Cost and Availability,” June 22, 2000.

Duvall, Mark, “Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vvehicles, The Seattle Electric Vehicle to Grid (V2G) Forum, June 6, 2005..

Mader, Jerry and Rick Gerth, “The Advanced Power Technology Dilemma: From Hydrocarbons to Hydrogen,” Center for Automotive Research, March 2004.

Mader, Jerry, “The U.S. Petroleum Addition: Is it Hopeless?,” University of Michigan, May 2006.

“Plugging into the Future,” The Economist, June 10, 2006.

Sanna, Lucy, “Driving the Solution: The Plug-In ,” EPRI Journal, Fall 2005, pp8-17.

Scherson, Daniel A. and Attila Palencsar, “Batteries and Electrochemical Capacitors”, Interface, Spring 2006, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp 17-22.

Smith, Douglas L., “Plug In,, Charge Up, Drive Off,” Engineering & Science No. 2, 2006, pp16-24.

Takeda, Nobuaki, Sadao Imai, et al., “Development of High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries for Hybrid Electric Vehicles,” New Technologies, Technical Review 2003. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_electric_vehicle, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_vehicle, Hybrid Vehicle History www.fueleconomy.gov, Compare Side-by-Side Hybrid Cars

6 About the Author

Jerry Mader is Energy Research Director and Deputy Director of the Transportation Energy Center at the University of Michigan. Mr. Mader received his baccalaureate degree in Industrial Engineering in 1966 and his masters in Operations Research in Industrial Engineering 1967. As an undergraduate, he won three varsity football letters and was a member of the 1965 Rose Bowl Championship team.

Mr. Mader pioneered the application of management information systems and management by objectives systems and founded Applied Science, Inc., in Ann Arbor in 1972. In 1977, he joined the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in Palo Alto, California, where he helped establish energy research in the field of advanced electric transportation technology, becoming ERPI’s first program manager for electric transportation in 1980. In 1985, Mr. Mader created the Electric Vehicle Development Corporation (EVDC) as a subsidiary of EPRI and was its Chief Operating and Chief Financial Officer until 1992. EVDC pioneered the commercial introduction of all-electric powered vans built on the General Motors assembly line.

Mr. Mader has knowledge and expertise in the development of advanced battery technology for vehicle applications. He was the Executive Director of the Advanced Battery Task Force advising the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on battery status in the mid-1990s. In the late 1990s, he worked as Vice President for Program Development for Electric Fuels Limited, an advanced developer located in Jerusalem, Israel. He has extensive experience working collaboratively with leading energy technology companies in Great Britain, Germany, and Israel.

Mr. Mader served as the Director of Advanced Energy Technology at the Center for Automotive Research under its Chairman, Dr. David E. Cole in October 2000. He joined the University of Michigan as Energy Research Director for the College of Engineering in April 2005.

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