Energy Biz - July/August 2008 - (Page 34) Nissan insists the battery issue will not prevent ramp up of retail production of the company’s planned all-electric car by 2011. Similarly, GM’s Tony Posawatz, line director for the Chevy Volt, is “very confident” that the automaker’s partnerships with A123 Systems and Compact Power, a subsidiary of LG Chem of Korea, will yield batteries in sufficient numbers to assure the launch of the Chevy Volt within the intended 2011 timeframe. But Nancy Gioia of Ford is more cautious. “It’s going to take a little bit of time and a chunk of change to go from the science lab to the pilot production phase to mass production of an efficient battery cell line of 10 million units a year.” Among the issues she believes must be settled before commercial production of the batteries becomes feasible are battery life, reliability and the ability to operate under broad temperature ranges. More significant from the perspective of utility companies, plug-in cars will need to communicate intelligently with the grid, and that means smart meters. Plug-in cars can be charged from any outlet, whether 110 volts or 220 volts, although the higher voltage cuts recharging time in half. Smart meters will allow utilities to control demand and shape the load and charge customers incentive rates for charging off-peak. California is ahead of the curve in installing smart meters, according to Efrain Ornelas, environmental technical supervisor for Pacific Gas and Electric’s clean air transportation department. With a goal of equipping all 5.4 million customers by 2012, Southern California Edison also intends to fully deploy smart meters to its five million customers by 2012, and utilities across the country are following suit. “We’re working closely with the Society of Automotive Engineers to develop codes and standards for how vehicles will communicate with the grid,” says PG&E’s Ornelas. “Customers will be able to program when to charge and to look for specific pricing signals with the option of giving us direct control as part of a broad demand-response program.” Ultimately, the combination of smart chargers built into 34 E n E rgyB i z the cars and smart meters will permit a roaming capability, which will allow cars to recharge away from their home base, with electricity billed to the car’s owner. But that’s complicated, with transaction costs easily exceeding actual energy costs. With thousands of separate utility entities, it could make the phone industry’s disastrous experience with roaming look mild by comparison. The issue of developing codes and standards that both automakers and utilities can use efficiently points to what is perhaps the most fundamental unresolved issue on which the success of plug-in hybrids and all electric vehicles rests: a shared business model. Ed Kjaer is the director of electric transportation at Southern California Edison, and before that he held key positions with major auto manufacturers. He calls the electrification of the automobile a fundamental paradigm shift. “This is not about the automakers launching the next car model. It’s about how do we integrate transportation into the energy system,” says Kjaer. “It’s an absolute win-win for two titan industries. If you think of this as part of an energy system, as opposed to a car, you start to explore some of the values on the utility side of the equation than can be monetized and returned to the customer in terms of value. For instance, if we connect the wheels to the grid at night, we’re spreading fixed costs over more energy use and that potentially puts downward pressure on rates.” The new business model will go far toward defining the future of automakers, utilities, and the economy as a whole. But the chalGeneral Motors’ plug-in, lenges are significant. “We announced rechargeable electricpowered Chevrolet Volt a partnership with Ford a few months is seen at the North American International ago, and it took us literally the first Auto Show in Detroit in month of talking to each other before January. we mastered each other’s vernacular,” SourcE: AP/cArloS oSorio Kjaer recounts. “The business models are completely different. Throw out all the old ones. Start with a blank sheet of paper and a whole lot of imagination, and at the end of the day you come up with a shared vision where transportation connects to the grid. Our industries are being driven by the same forces: energy efficiency and environmental impact.” The environmental impact of electrifying transportation through plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles is clear and incontrovertible. No matter which of nine models is used, regardless of the generation carbon mix, a major study undertaken by EPRI and the National Resource Defense Council concludes that the environmental impact, both in terms of air quality and greenhouse gas emissions will be dramatic, with greenhouse gas emissions reduced by as much as 10.3 billion metric tons by 2050. With inevitable carbon constraints on both the utility and the auto industries, both stand to benefit enormously from the increased efficiency this new technology represents. July/August 2008
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