Vol. 3, No. 3. | Winter 1997 |
The International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA) has produced a major report that concludes electric cars are much safer than gasoline-powered vehicles. The report, entitled "The Current Status of EV Safety: A Review of Issues, Regulations and Programs," also found that there were no safety concerns related to electric cars that could halt their widespread use.
The report projects that expanded use of EVs (electric vehicles) would prevent thousands of deaths and serious injuries and save millions of dollars in health care costs. ICTA Director Andrew Kimbrell commented after the report's release that, "We can now state that EVs are also significantly safer to drive than gas-powered vehicles." He added that, "Each year, thousands of deaths, serious injuries and disfigurements are caused by gasoline fires and explosions related to car use. Widespread use of EVs will help prevent these deaths and injuries and save billions of dollars in health costs and property damage." Replacing current gas-powered vehicles with EVs could also reduce property damage costs related to auto mishaps by up to 600 million annually.
CALSTART noted that the last year has witnessed increased consumer interest in the issue of the safety of electric vehicles. GM advertised and introduced its initial electric vehicle, the EV1, and several other manufacturers announced EV production models. Concerns about EV safety have been raised in numerous advertisements and paid editorials sponsored by some oil companies, most notably Mobil Oil. These allegations against EVs imply that widespread use of electric powered vehicles will result in safety risks that exceed those of the current gasoline-powered fleet.
In comparing EV and gasoline powered vehicle safety, the report examined eleven major safety issues, including fire, a variety of burns, collision, refueling, rollover, toxic fumes, electric shock, noise, and manufacturing defects. The study found that risks associated with the use of gasoline- powered vehicles exceeded those of EVs in 9 of the 11 safety areas. The risk of collision and electric shock was found to be approximately the same in both types of vehicles.
Overall, ICTA's findings support the view that the widespread adoption of EVs will result in a significantly safer fleet of vehicles than those currently in use. "This report should lay to rest the rumors and misleading charges made by those who oppose EVs and should give consumers confidence that electric vehicles will be a safe and environmentally sound part of the highway mix," stated Jack Gillis, Director of Public Affairs of the Consumer Federation of America.
CALSTART reports that, after review of the report, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection commented, "CTA has effectively arranged all the essential safety concerns and applicable questions into a single, concise document which compares the known technology of internal combustion vehicles to that of electric vehicle technology to dispel many of the myths and mysteries."
Excerpt from Clean Fuel Vehicle Week, Vol.7, No.9, March 3, 1997.
Readers of Automotive Engineering, the monthly magazine of the Society of Automotive Engineers, selected the following three alternative fuel-related technologies among the year's "Top 15" technological innovations.
Sony Corporation's lithium-ion battery for electric vehicles. For a lead/acid battery pack of a certain weight that is capable of powering an electric vehicle to a 70km range, a nickel-type battery pack of the same weight would provide a range of 100-140km. The Sony lithium-ion technology offers a range of 200km at the same battery pack weight. High- power density provides the current necessary for driving uphill or at high speeds in electric vehicles.
Dow-United Technologies composite flywheel rotor for hybrid electric vehicles. The incorporation of a flywheel accumulator system into the drivetrains of hybrid electric vehicles allows them to overcome some of the limitations of chemical batteries. Dow-United Technologies Composite Products has developed a proprietary resin transfer molding process that is used to produce hybrid electric vehicle flywheel rotors at a much lower cost than previous methods.
Robot alternative fuels pump attendant. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and ARAL have collaborated on the development of the first fully functioning filling station robot, the purpose of which is to eliminate fuel vapor emissions as tanks are filled and save the driver the chore of pumping gas. BMW adds that the initiative also represents a significant step on the way to using new fuels: liquid natural gas initially, and hydrogen early into the next century.
Chrysler plans to bring pollution-free vehicles to the automobile market 10 years sooner than expected by using today's standard fuel: gasoline. On January 6, 1997, at the Detroit Auto Show, Chrysler presented its plans to develop a fuel-cell vehicle that runs on gasoline. Chrysler, with its partner Arthur D. Little, Inc., in Cambridge, Massachusetts, hopes to have a vehicle built and running within two years.
The current estimates of when fuel cells will be ready for the road range from 10 to 20 years. Chrysler believes that by addressing the refueling infrastructure problem, it has taken a gigantic step forward in implementing the first running fuel-cell vehicle. Many automakers also believe that the fuel cell will be the ultimate power-train of the future because it offers the same driving range as today's gasoline-fueled vehicles and is almost pollution-free.
A fuel cell is a refillable battery that uses hydrogen and air to generate electricity. Since the fuel cell cannot use gasoline directly, the gasoline must be broken down into hydrogen through a four- step process. (The fifth step is the hydrogen gas product.) The fuel cell is made up of a series of bipolar plates stacked together. Each side of the plate is coated with platinum, which acts as a catalyst. In each plate, a membrane separates the fuel (hydrogen) on one side and oxygen on the other. If the membrane is to be effective, it must be wet. The membrane allows the hydrogen or methane gas to pass through, but only in "charged" or ion form, meaning that each atom of gas has lost its negatively charged electron. The hydrogen ions pass through the membrane, join up with the oxygen anions, and form water, which is the fuel cell's primary "emission."
Chrysler's plan is to use gasoline and convert it into hydrogen on board the vehicle. "Storing hydrogen on board makes for a simpler system, but larger tanks are needed to give the vehicle adequate range," according to Chris Borroni-Bird, Chrysler's advanced technology specialist." The tanks are expensive because hydrogen needs to be stored under pressure. "There are also safety issues related to storing hydrogen, which is a highly explosive gas. Converting gasoline on board, known as reforming, is more complex, but Chrysler believes that they must follow this path to achieve public acceptance of alternative fuel vehicles," said Borroni-Bird. "Traditionally, consumers always seem to move back to gasoline. There is a $200 billion investment in today's infrastructure. Even when we tried methanol flexible-fuel vehicles, they did not sell, and those that did are being run mostly on gasoline."
One of the difficulties in using gasoline is the reforming process produces carbon monoxide, which poisons the fuel cell. Chrysler has a plan that includes steps that use steam and catalysts to convert the carbon monoxide into more hydrogen and carbon dioxide. There are still many more challenges to make the fuel cell work properly. It must be brought up to an operating temperature of about 176 degrees Fahrenheit. This requires either burning some gasoline or drawing from batteries, which would require a bigger battery pack. "Chrysler is looking for a canister to trap hydrogen sulfide, which also poisons the fuel cell, created when the gasoline vaporizes, but Chrysler wants gasoline with less sulfur than it has now," said Borroni-Bird.
Chrysler believes that with current technology, it would take about five minutes to get the fuel cell to operating temperature. To make the fuel cell acceptable for the driving public, the operating temperature needs to be reduced to one minute or less.
Chrysler hopes that by making its strategy public, it can persuade suppliers of fuel cell components to increase their research and development in order to bring the costs down and hasten their use.
Creating a variety of transportation options is vital to the economic and environmental health of a community. This is where Transportation Partners can be of help. A cooperative program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's), Transportation Partners offers communities the information, technical assistance, financial advice, and public recognition needed to curb traffic and pollution growth while expanding transportation opportunities and developing innovative transportation solutions in communities across the country.
EPA's Transportation Partners seek to enhance mobility and create prosperous communities in which to work, reside, and play, which helps to promote safer neighborhoods, small business development, and convenient transit. Project partners are local officials, business people, citizens, organizations, and transportation professionals. Principal partners are nongovernmental organizations, which provide technical and strategic expertise to cut through technical jargon, complicated computer models, confusing arguments, and extensive decision-making processes.
By providing strategic and technical expertise, principal partners help project partners create transportation choices for economically and environmentally healthy places to live.
For more information about EPA's Transportation Partners, please call any of the following organizations.
Over the last few years, research and development work by Cummins Engines, BC Research, Inc. (BCRI), and BC Gas Utility Ltd., has led to the protoype of a natural gas Kenworth truck, which is in daily use by the City of Surrey (CDN).
The latest L10G spark-ignited engine operates at a rather high peak efficiency of 37 percent, according to Cummins Engines. The L10G is commercially available and meets the current California Air Resources Board's heavy duty vehicle emissions standards without using a catalytic converter.
Unlike its diesel equivalents, the L10G has no particulate emissions. Particulates are usually seen as black diesel smoke and have now been identified as a major contributor to respiratory illness. The government of British Columbia has recently initiated a diesel smoke monitoring program to reduce airborne particulates. For the past three years, all light duty vehicles in the area are required to pass AirCare, a government-run inspection and maintenance program that focuses on HC, CO, and NOx tailpipe emissions.
The truck development project, which includes fuel system installation, control and data logging, and monitoring systems, is under the supervision of Buerebista Ursu of the Clean Transportation Group of BCRI's Advanced Systems Engineering Section. The latest phase has been funded by Natural Resources, Canada's Alternative Energy Division, and the Technology Development and Transfer Department of BC Gas Utility Ltd. Support has also come from Kenworth, from whom the truck is leased, and Cummins BC, from whom the engine is leased. Dynetek provided the CNG cylinder at cost.
For more information, contact Buerebista Ursu or Nigel Fitzpatrick at BCRI, (604) 224-4331.
Excerpt from the CATF REVIEW, October 1996.
On September 10, 1996, the "Way to Go!" Award was presented to Chattanooga's electric bus program from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Transportation Partners program.
Rick Hitchcock, chairman of the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA), which operates Chattanooga's electric bus fleet, along with Electric Transit Vehicle Institute executive director John Powell, accepted the award at a Washington, D.C., conference on alternative transportation.
According to Hitchcock, "We are grateful to be one of three communities in the United States to be recognized for transportation innovations supporting urban development. The awards recognize the importance of new transportation approaches to the success of land development in urban areas."
The EPA award recognizes the unique character of Chattanooga's sustainable downtown transportation system, which combines intercept parking facilities and a free electric shuttle route operating in the city center.
Nearly one million riders will use Chattanooga's Downtown Shuttle this year. Without the shuttle, most of these trips would have been made in single-occupant cars, dramatically increasing downtown congestion, air pollution, and noise.
"We appreciate national awards," added Hitchcock, " but we value even more the support of riders who use the system every day, drivers who make their rides safe and pleasant, mechanics who have embraced the new technologies, and craftsmen who have built a remarkable fleet of buses."
The Chattanooga program has received worldwide attention recently. Costa Rican President Jose Maria Figueres visited the city in August to evaluate its electric buses for use in his country.
The electric bus program is one reason Chattanooga received a "Best Practices" Award for Improvement of the Living Environment at the U.N. Summit on Cities in June 1996. Chattanooga's award was one of only 12 given worldwide, and the only award given to an American city.
The city's buses are manufactured in Chattanooga by a local company, Advanced Vehicle Systems (AVS). Manufacturing and research and development activities have produced dozens of local jobs and have led to promising strategic alliances throughout the United States, including joint ventures with the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA).
Over 50 AVS buses are operating in cities throughout the U.S., including Atlanta; Savannah; South Bend, IN; Charlotte; Anderson, IN; Portland, ME; Sacramento, and Birmingham.
Excerpt from the Chattanooga News Bureau, Chattanooga, Tennessee, http://www.chattanooga.net/chamber.
The NOPEC Corporation of Lakeland, Florida, an environmentally- friendly company that converts waste cooking oil and grease into a clean burning biodiesel fuel, has announced its sponsorship of the Florida Restaurant Association's School-to-Work Program (STW). NOPEC is working with the Florida Restaurant Association (FRA) in its dedication to the success of the STW six pilot programs and future growth of the program statewide. FRA expects to receive $185,000 in grant funds over the next two years for the STW Program, which will enable FRA to expand the current STW program to schools and foodservice operators throughout the state.
The program is a national training, testing, and certificate program in foodservice management. High school students and other young adults learn to develop the ability to work successfully in entry level positions and prepare themselves for entry level supervisory positions or post- secondary hospitality education. STW is the first attempt ever to develop true partnerships between the business/employer community and schools through initiatives provided by the federal and state departments of labor and education. Local schools adopt restaurants in their community, asking that the restaurant consider recycling its wasted oil and grease and provide possible mentors for the STW program.
NOPEC collects the waste oil and grease, donating ten cents per gallon to the designated schools. These funds are donated to the schools for books, computers, scholarships, and the School-to- Work Program, which is a mutually beneficial situation for the environment, restaurants, and schools in the communtiy.
For more information about Alternative Fuels, check out the Florida Suncoast Clean Cities new
Web sites and the new Space Coast Clean Cities Coalition Web site:
http://cutr/research/ccities/cchome.htm
http://cutr/research/afitc/afhome.htm
http://www.fsec.ucf.edu//~fsccities
Mark your calendar now for the 3rd National Clean Cities Stakeholders Conference and Exposition, June 24-26, at the Sheraton Long Beach Hotel, in Long Beach, CA. Participants are also invited to a special tour of alternative fuel operations at Disneyland on June 27. To receive future conference registration, exposition, and sponsorship information, please call Linda Bluestein or Ruth Anne Keister at (800) 224-8437 or (703) 528-1222, or Fax your request to (703) 528-1953, or Email: ccities@nrel.gov.
Mark your calendars for the Florida Goldcoast Clean Cities meeting to be held on Monday, May 5, at the South Florida Regional Planning Council, Suite 140, 33440, Hollywood, Florida. For more information, please call (954) 985-4416.
