7/31/2010

DC fast charging is the Holy Grail for eliminating range anxiety in pure battery electric vehicles.  It has the promise of permitting you to charge 80 miles of range on the Leaf in less than 30 minutes.  So, to the extent that these beasts are accessible out on the road, you will be able to drive farther, and recover when you forget to plug-in.  Also, they open the EV market to folks who cannot charge at home or work, including the millions of urban dwellers for whom an EV could be ideal.  No matter how big the battery, there are cases where access to a DC fast charger will be valuable.

Well, it turns out there are two incompatible standards emerging for DC fast chargers.  There were some sessions in the Plug-in 2010 conference in San Jose this week that added clarity to these two alternatives.

One standard is the called CHAdeMO, which comes out of Japan.  CHAdeMO receptacles will be included or optional on the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi iMiEV.  All of the Japanese vehicle OEMs are members of the CHAdeMO Association.  Many CHAdeMO chargers have been deployed in Japan, and one has been deployed in the United States.  The upcoming EVProject deployment that is supported by $115M in federal subsidy will include 310 DC fast chargers.  Since only CHAdeMO chargers are available today, and since the Leaf is part of the project, all of the 310 units will probably be CHAdeMO type.

The other standard is an enhancement under study to the existing AC charging standard, SAE J1772-2009.  Now that the this existing AC standard is widely accepted for all vehicles targeted for the United States, the SAE has shifted focus toward modifying it to also accommodate DC charging .  This DC enhancement is still emerging, and therefore has not been implemented on any vehicles or charges yet.

At Plug-In 2010, SAE publicly proposed the “Combo Charging Connector” concept.  It defines the outline geometry for the AC core and also for the DC extension.  The AC core in North America and Japan would be based on the existing J1772-2009 layout for AC.  The AC core in Europe would use the layout based on a connector design from Mennekes.  The inclusion of the DC extension is optional, and if included, will be universal across all regions.  It is interesting that the chair of SAE is Mr. Gery Kissel of GM.  Also, there was a separate presentation by Daimler that supported Mr. Kissel’s position.  Finally, Mark Duvall of the Electric Power Research Institute appeared to also support Mr. Kissel.

Mr. Kissel stated that a key advantage of the J1772 combo connector proposal is that a single connector can support both AC and DC, and this reduces confusion for the driver.  Also, the combo connector requires less space on the vehicle.  The combo connector camp emphasized backward compatibility with the current AC standards in that a vehicle equipped with a combo connector receptacle may be AC charged from a J1772-2009 EVSE that does not have the DC extension.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) is an executive member of the CHAdeMO Association.  In a presentation by Mr. Takafumi Anegawa of TEPCO the point was made that CHAdeMO is not only finalized, but that many CHAdeMO compliant vehicles and chargers have been built and deployed.  Usage data based on these chargers has been gathered and analyzed to the benefit of the EV community.  Mr. Anegawa stated that keeping the AC and DC receptacles separate has the advantage of permitting the vehicle OEM to place each receptacle in a location optimum for each charging scenario.  For example, the DC receptacle may be located as close as possible to the battery to reduce the length of heavy and expensive cabling needed to support the high currents of a fast charger.  But the AC receptacle might be better located elsewhere for easy in-garage charging.  Of course a vehicle equipped with a CHAdeMO receptacle may also contain a separate J1772-2009 receptacle, and so may be AC charged from a J1772-2009 EVSE.

David Patterson of Mitsubishi emerged from the audience during one of the sessions to reiterate that CHAdeMO chargers and vehicles have been in use in Japan already and so there is no reason to propose another standard.  He said that one of the key learnings from the early deployment is that use of CHAdeMO can improve battery cycle life compared to typical Level 2 AC charging.  He asserted this because typically Level 2 AC charging is performed to 100% of the battery capacity, whereas CHAdeMO is performed to 80% of the capacity to reduce heat stress on the battery.

Developments in the next 12 months will determine which standard becomes dominant in the United States.  If sufficient Leaf and CHAdeMO charger deployments occur, then CHAdeMO can become a de facto standard.  On the other hand, if SAE finalizes the combo connector quickly, and if a major OEM such as GM or Ford rolls out vehicles with the combo connector soon, then it might displace CHAdeMO.  Ironically, GM is leading the standardization effort for this combo connector, but their upcoming Volt does not have (or critically need) a DC fast charging port because GM included a gas engine for extending range.  So, Ford’s early support of the combo connector is probably key if SAE is to have its way.

The development of two competing standards is actually good for the EV industry in that it proves that OEMs have raised the stakes because they realize market penetration of EVs will be significant.  Indeed it will be fascinating to track DC fast charging over the next 12 months.

7/27/2010

I was fortunate enough to drive a real Leaf yesterday.  The dash provides a techie turn-on sequence when powered up.  As you can see in the below picture showing David Harron at the wheel, this vehicle included the optional navigation in the dash.  If you put it in a special ECO mode, then acceleration requires more throttle travel and the regenerative breaking is stronger.  But you can temporally override ECO just by tromping on the “gas”.  You can see my knees in the back are not against the seat back, but I did notice that I could not tuck my feet under the front seat.

The car was quiet and smooth.  There is a switch to defeat the audible alert, but the alert is not loud enough to hear inside the closed cabin.  This will not be the car for someone who expects to impress with its sound until someone hacks the alert sound file.  Well, I must add that I found myself listing for (and could learn to love) the faint inverter whine that comes with higher RPMs.

Overall, this vehicle seems like an electrified Prius or Accord.  Practical, mainstream, and effective electric transportation.

A DC fast charger connector usable with electric vehicles that will be available the end of this year. Used with permission from EVnut.com.

7/6/2010

Do you want to know more about developments in the plug-in vehicle market?  If yes, then save out the evening of Tuesday, July 27th to attend Public Night of the Plug-in 2010 conference in San Jose.

This event debuted in San Jose two years ago, and took place in Long Beach last year.  So, there is certainly potential for it to not return to the bay area until 2012.

There is no need to worry about advance registration because the $10 entrance fee to Public Night is payable at the door.

Cars targeted for display include plug-in hybrids (2010 Prius Plug-in), extended range plug-in hybrids (Chevrolet Volt, 2010 Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid), and pure battery electric vehicles (Mitsubishi i MiEV, Nissan LEAF, smart fortwo electric drive.)

It is a great opportunity to hear the following key players in a panel discussion moderated by Mark Duvall, Director, Electric Transportation, Electric Power Research Institute:

• Martin Eberhard, Co-Founder, Tesla Motors
• Bill Nye, “The Science Guy”
• Jessie Deeter, Producer, Who Killed the Electric Car? & Revenge of the Electric Car
• Chelsea Sexton, Founder, The Lightning Rod Foundation & former General Motors EV1 Specialist.

See this link for details about Public Night. And for those of you who want more, there is a full conference spanning most of the week that you can learn about and register for here.

Come back to this blog after the conference for some highlights.

Starting May 15th you will be able to reserve an all-electric Nissan Leaf at this link.  You will need to pay a $100 refundable deposit to get on the list.

The Leaf is targeted to be a commute car, so it can be viable if you have access to another vehicle in your family for long distance traveling.  There are plenty of naysayers who have plenty of reasons why the Leaf is not for them, and why they think it will not be successful.  But the Leaf is the first car since the RAV4EV to be a viable mass market all-battery electric.  The recent oil spill in the gulf helps highlight why this car is so compelling, and if you insist on transportation without oil, then the Leaf is definitely your best choice right now.

Charging

While the charger is build-in to the car, a home “charging” dock will be needed and will cost around $2,200 including installation.  A Federal tax credit may offset 50% of the cost (up to $2000) through Dec. 2010.  Here is a video about the 220/240V, 40A dock: link.    Charging from empty to full with this dock will take 8-hours.

Nissan is helping establish a charging network at malls, service stations, etc., presumably using 220/240V, 40A units.   The navigation system will show these locations as they come online.  You can also plug the car into a regular 110/120V 20 amp dedicated outlet for slower “trickle charging”.  Finally, the car can handle 400/480V quick-charging (30 minute to 80%) stations that will eventually be available in many markets.

Range

The 100-mile range is based on the LA4 drive cycle – an EPA testing and rating system.  Range will vary with your driving style, and conditions.  Nissan expects the battery to have a lifespan of 5-10 years, and battery age will lead to a corresponding decrease in range.  So, if your work is 50 miles from your home, then you will need to negotiate with your workplace to plug-in during the day.  The navigation system will tell you if your planned destination is within estimated range.

“Details”

• MSRP is $32,780
• $7,500 in Federal tax credits.
• $5,000 in California rebate.
• California registered Leafs can apply to drive in HOV lanes regardless of vehicle occupancy.

Some details surfaced this week about a patent Apple filed last May for a system to manage power delivery to home electronics.  It is based on the HomePlug standard, and it appears there is a provision for energy storage in the home.

See these links for details: Link1 Link2

Now is the time to look forward to the new year in terms of the tone for clean tech and sustainability.  Check this article for some predictions: link.  Much of Rob Day’s focus is on investing.

Check this post for some detail on energy storage demonstrations that were recently funded: link

I was struck by how great some of the contenders were that did not win final awards at Clean Tech Open.  Below are some of the stand-outs in my opinion.  Check them out!

Pangreen Its great because they want to do something like Google mobile (including Transit), except with additional features that extend the “sustainability” aspect such as bicycle mode and business centric green information.  Also they are planning on schedule syncing, including sending alerts for the best time to depart for a trip in order to get there in time.

it moves Small 4-wheeled battery electrics for carsharing.  Advantage is a parking area that the service provider can supply(and negotiate with the city for) that can accommodate multiple of the little cars faced perpendicular to the curb.  Sounds like the quantity might be 3-4 cars in the space usually reserved for one regular car.

dot UI Providing a conduit between homeowners and service providers to the benefit of both.

Danfoss IXA CO2 and particulate sensors for industrial applications, like ships.  Important because of the degree to which we are just estimating and not measuring emission levels.  Anything that is estimated can be fudged, and fudged figures means inaccuracy in determining emission reduction.

tru2earth Converting water and soda bottles into 50+year rated roofing materials.

At theClean Tech Open Gala last night, awards were made to early stage start-ups that compete for recognition and financial assistance.  Also, there was an alumni made.

The winners were:

National Prize:  EcoFactor (www.ecofactor.com)

National Prize Runners-up : Alphabet Energy (www.alphabetenergy.com); and MicroMidas (www.micromidas.com)

Alumni Award: Adura Technologies (www.aduratech.com)

National Sustainability Award: HydroVolts (www.hydrovolts.com)

Global Cleantech Open Ideas Competition: Replenish Energy of Puerto Rico (www.replenishenergy.org)

You can read more here: Press Release.

I met Stan Walerczyk at a talk he gave recently on the latest in lighting.  Later I discovered he conducts full seminars for a fee through various organizations.  His site www.lightingwizards.com not only touches on several aspects of lighting quality and efficiency, but also includes some informative papers, some for free, some for a fee.

If you need a lighting professional, I suggest you contact Stan.