US Department of Energy pours $30 million into plug-in hybrids
By Donald Melanson 
posted June 13th 2008 12:09PM
posted June 13th 2008 12:09PM
While some automakers are already promising to have plug-in hybrids on the road by 2010, the US Department of Energy is now pouring some cash into a slightly less ambitious joint effort with Ford, General Motors, and General Electric, which would see plug-ins capable of driving 40 miles on a single charge roll out by 2014. Under the new effort, General Motors will be tasked with improving lithium-Ion battery packs and charging systems, and integrating them into its own research with a test fleet by 2011, while Ford will be aiming to speed up the mass-production of plug-in hybrids, as well as improve its batteries and build prototype vehicles. Rounding things out, General Electric will be partnering with Chrysler to develop a dual-battery system, which promises to let vehicles travel 40 miles on a charge. All of that is still subject to appropriations by Congress, however, and the aforementioned companies would obviously be pouring in a good chunk of change themselves, as a mere $30 million isn't exactly quite enough to shake up the auto sector these days.
Stanley Meyers was a fraud, and defrauded people of money with an invention that never existed. If it was a cover-up, then his design (which has been made public) would not only work, but be used today.
John Kanzius, on the other hand...
How about they take the 30 million dollars.... and DRILL FOR OUR OWN OIL!!!!!!!!! That way energy problem temporarily solved while alternate technology catches up to the enviro-whackos demands
There are quite a few companies trying to open up the bakken oil reserves (in North Dakota, could be up to 413 billion barrels, yes billion with a B) http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&sid=ayj1uo_gdNI4
"Department of Energy pours $30 million..."?!
That amount of money is more akin to shaking off a drop. Seems like more of an insult than anything. Just blink and the govt. has spent that in Iraq.. and what the hell has that done for anyone? Well, anyone but Bush, Halliburton and the rest of their pals.
30 million? Doesnt one jet cost more? Yankee stadium is gonna cost 1.5 billion dollars
30 million is chump change in comparison to what the government gives Big Oil..
drive this through des moines iowa today and you'd electrocute hundreds
Take into account that the US spends 700 billion dollars, thats 700000000000 dollars on foreign oil each year, and you realize- 30 million isn't enough to do jack shit.
it's still trading one non-renewable resource for another
If a significant portion of the western population moves to these vehicles what happens to oil? Long run, nothing. The developing world's, China's and India's demand for oil for cars will continue to grow and they will buy the oil that western counties won't - they don't have the electrical infrastructure to support a large population of these vehicles.
That leads to whether western countries have the electrical infrastructure/capacity to handle these vehicles - the answer is no we currently don't. In the US, the cars will be bought far faster than the infrastructure is upgraded. Think about California - last year they had rolling blackouts. That's how tapped out their system currently is and California is one of the states most likely to adopt plugin hybrids.
What happens next is the US starts building more power plants to address the power demands of the new hybrids. What kind of plants are built? Nuclear? No, those take 10-20 years and the need to provide more electricity can't wait that long. Wind and Solar - Wind is pretty good though the farms are generally far from population centers so there is the need to add significant transmission lines. Solar is moving along and becoming more promising (particularly the systems that couple solar collectors with stirling engines) but we can't have a significant volume of electricity from solar power in 5 years which is the time frame are looking at for the move to a large volume of plugin hybrids. No, what we'll see are more coal plant and not the mystical "clean coal" plants that are something like 15 years into the development process and have yet to be commercialized. We'll see plain-old, dirty coal and that means we'll move from gasoline pollution in cars that is bad to coal emissions that are worse, at least from a global warming perspective.
http://ohmexcited.googlepages.com/CO2.htm
The worst electric cars rival the Prius for CO2 emissions when power comes from a dirty coal plant. Modern coal plants are far cleaner than the old ones (DUH!), but that doesn't really effect CO2 emmisions, unless they trap it.
first off, the switch wont happen overnight. The cars themselves would be charged at night, which is not a peak time for electricity use.
PHEVs could actually help with California's rolling blackouts. The cars will mostly be charged at night, when the power grid is underutilized and energy rates are lower.
People could make money by allowing their vehicle to feed energy back into the grid during the day at higher rates to help meet peak energy demands.
First of all--READ the story. The first 40 miles are totally electric--highway or city. THEN it kicks in to hybrid mode.
Secondly, ever heard of nuclear power? Nuclear fuel does not consist of coal. It is safe, efficient, and it even glows glows. $30 mill is not a lot, it is a start.
And for the whiner in the Prius, if your 25hp Prius got plowed into by another monster powerhous Toyota Prius doing 35mph, you would still be totaled. But, I think the F-350 plowing into you would be much cooler.
I can say surely more than half of the commenters here don't know the difference between a plug-in hybrid and an EV. Just look at the people making ridiculous "only 40 miles, how will I get back from work?" comments. The target of 40 miles is low, but I think they mean a 40 mile EV range (highway capable) PHEV that is competitive in price w/ gasoline cars. I also agree $30 mil is not a lot but it's better than nothing.
The $30 million can go through for streamlining the process of making a PHEV and making it cheaper (which is the biggest obstacle so far, the technology is here, but it's not cheap, esp in relatively small volumes). It's not as easy, as some people think, to convert a hybrid to a PHEV esp if you want one that can go 40 miles and with all the safety and durability (and again cost) concerns taken into consideration.
30 mil? Are they kidding? Bush just asked for another 70 BILLION for Iraq, and they 'pour' 30 mil into this?
Jigga watt?
What I love is how the hell are apartment dwellers supposed to charge these things? Or homes without a garage, do you want to try to charge your car while it's raining out? How much energy do they require to charge?
I'd like to know how many kWh (and thus, $$$) a full charge will use. Being able to drive 40 miles before the gas engine kicks on would work fine for my daily use, and probably many others living in cities.
Also, there are big benefits to not having a gas engine idling at stoplights as far as mpg and emissions are concerned.
Here's an idea. All plug in cars have solar-paneled roofs. You plug in the car to charge it but it always draws power from the sun to charge, plugging in just helps it along. When the car is at full capacity it can then "reverse polarity of the neutron flow" and be used to solar power (not much, granted) to the building/grid it is plugged into.
Already been done. The problem is solar cells are so inefficient that you can't get enough surface area to do more than power the A/C, or slightly lower normal battery consumption. However, you loose more in the weight involved than energy gained. Might as well strap on some wind-powered turbines while we're at it.
Pathetic amount compared to what has been spent invading Iraq.
I'm sure this $40 million will accomplish more than the:
o $2 billion spent during the Clinton years for the Partnership for Next Generation Vehicle (PNGV) which give us the really crunchy GM EV1
o "untold" billions spent during the Bush years in FreedomCar to "successfully" give us a hydrogen car
The only thing PNGV gave us was the Toyota Prius, and they weren't even allowed into the Partnership.
No, if I were a congressman who still remembered how PNGV turned entirely into pork, I wouldn't even want to give these assholes another $30 million.
I think this was supposed to send a very clear message that Congress isn't very happy with Detroit right now, and thinks they should fix their own problems.
Shenanigans!
Did the government feel that giving 30 million would be necessary to prompt the Big 3 to actually do some extensive electric/hybrid research?
Either they innovate, or they die. Put the money to use elsewhere and let the Big 3's own self interest drive a growing budget for alternative fuel research.
Clearly, they finally get it.
Hyrbid?
http://www.teslamotors.com/ too bad its way expensive
I don't know how difficult it is to redesign a hybrid into plug-in hybrid, but it doesn't seem that hard to add a plug in spot and a few small pieces of hardware/software to charge it from the wall.
What do they need this $30 million for? I ask you, is it really that difficult to make a plug-in hybrid when you already have a hybrid?
"The developing world's, China's and India's demand for oil for cars will continue to grow and they will buy the oil that western counties won't - they don't have the electrical infrastructure to support a large population of these vehicles."
Man, I am so tired of all the pessimism on the net nowadays and peoples' considerable blind spots when it comes to technology.
If you had told a person in 1900 that the U.S. population would someday reach 290 million, they'd have told you it was impossible because there'd be no way to pasture that many horses. As it turns out, horses were made obsolete, as the gas car will be one day.
Electrical generation and transmission technology won't lag behind should electric cars become widespread, it will be (pardon the unintended pun) ~driven~ by them. Probably nothing would be better for electric energy gen and storage tech than the widespread adoption of electric cars. And here's another prediction, research into powering cars with electricity will lead to innovations that see use ~outside~ of transportation. Many of the gadgets we enjoy in our homes today were driven by research into space exploration in decades past. Watch an old series called "Connections" to see hundreds of examples of what I mean.
Oh, and 30 million? Really? Thanks so much U.S. government, for leaving us in the lurch again! No, really, just go start another unending war while people who actually care about the security of our country sort this out.
Addressing energy needs fully and cleanly should be our "next big thing", like going to the moon was in the sixties (see above). Because if we can sort this out, it's on the level of going to the moon, but with direct and immediate benefit to all of mankind.
I've driven these 5 years ago with zipcar, and really like them.
Hahah "enviro wackos" what a fuckin idiot. by the end of the year a gallon of gas will be $10. and the promise if hydrogen and other alternative fuels are a convenient way for oil companies to just retool and sell us more overpriced energy. The solution has been in place for years now. decades in fact. This picture says it all: http://jcwinnie.biz/wordpress/imageSnag/05032417pnr_dedication.jpg
A solar powered electric car charging station. free motherfucker!
Perhaps I am older than many of the responders, but....I share much of the same reaction, yet in a different way. During WW2, (my father's war), the US and domestic companies partnered up, and built ships, airplanes, and everything else in months, not years. The research and development gave us many technologies leading into the future, for civilian, as well as military use.
We are in a war NOW, and I am not talking the Iraq war. Our resources are flowing to the middle east and Venezuela at an unbelievable rate. In return, they are buying up our country and our companies. These same countries are not exactly our best friends. We need to put forth the same effort towards this problem, that we put forth during WW2 to build all those liberty ships, and all those planes, and get it done, NOT 6 years in the future, but next year, and the next!
I can't believe their goals are so low. Toyota and Honda will be selling millions of plug in Hybrids, while the former Big 3 will still be messing with batteries.
Perhaps they should give all the research to the folks at Google.