Transportation Example - Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Project Title: New York State Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Initiative

A123 (Hopkinton, MA) - EnergyCS (Monrovia, CA) - Electrovaya (Ballston Spa, NY) - Hybrids Plus (Boulder, CO)

BACKGROUND

In 2006, New York State announced the Plug-in Hybrids program, under which “the 600 hybrid vehicles in the State fleet will be retrofitted to be plug-in hybrids” capable of being connected to an electric outlet to recharge onboard batteries used for propulsion. NYSERDA has been assigned to manage this program.

The vehicles in question are gasoline-fueled cars and light-duty trucks classified as hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). Besides having a gasoline engine, an HEV also has an electric motor that provides supplemental power to the drivetrain. This improves fuel economy by allowing use of a smaller engine and a control system that keeps the engine running at an efficient operating point. The Control system may also shut off the engine when the vehicle is not moving or when the electric motor alone can handle the load. Energy for the electric motor comes from a battery pack that is recharged by an electric generator connected to the engine. The battery pack is also recharged when braking, where the motor is temporarily made to operate as a generator, slowing the vehicle and converting the braking energy into electricity.

The purpose of converting an HEV to be a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) is to further reduce consumption of petroleum-based fuel by using the electric grid to provide a portion of the vehicle’s energy needs. Presently PHEVs are not available from vehicle manufacturers and must be produced by a conversion process in which a larger battery and other hardware are added to a standard hybrid.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this project is to evaluate and demonstrate the use of plug-in hybrid vehicles in New York State agency fleets, so as to reduce petroleum consumption and encourage further adoption of this new technology.

DESCRIPTION

The project will be completed in two stages. The first stage entails testing a sample group of hybrids converted to PHEVs by a variety of vendors. Contractors who are successful in this stage may move to the second stage, in which a large number of HEVs in New York State fleets will be converted.

The batteries installed during the conversion process are lithium-ion (Li-ion) and are of two basic configurations, one in which a new battery pack replaces the hybrid’s original pack, and another, where the original pack is left in place and operates in conjunction with the new pack. EnergyCS and Hybrids Plus are two venders who use the replacement configuration, whereas A123/Hymotion and Electrovaya use the tandem arrangement.

Note that vehicle manufacturers presently use only nickel metal-hydride batteries in their HEVs. However, these manufactures have developed programs in which Li-ion batteries are featured due to their significant performance advantage. Although Li-ion technology is well established, the immense power requirements and harsh operating environment of vehicular powertrain applications give rise to a need for significant engineering development to produce battery packs that are safe, reliable, and long-lived.

BENEFITS

By using grid electricity to supplement vehicle energy needs, a PHEV can achieve approximately double the gasoline fuel economy (miles per gallon) of an HEV, with some PHEVs delivering more than 100 mpg under moderate driving conditions and driving styles. Equally important, this technology creates a link in which the need for new primary energy sources for the transportation sector can be met by electricity produced from renewable resources (e.g., wind, solar, hydro). Indeed, studies indicate that deployment of PHEVs will improve the economics of renewable sources by providing off-peak demand for power from, for example, wind turbines. Through these linkages, PHEVs can be a key tool for reducing the global warming impacts of the transportation sector, which in New York State, produces a larger amount of greenhouse gases than any other segment of the economy.

SCHEDULE AND STATUS

Five prototype vehicles have been delivered to NYSERDA. Many seemingly minor details, such as the style and placement of the vehicles onboard electric receptacle, have in some cases been problematic, but are steadily being resolved. Present plans call for enough testing to be done by late-2008 with stage 2 operations to begin in 2009. In the second stage, a “pilot fleet” of about 20 HEVs are converted to PHEV for use by New York State agencies.

Agencies wishing to participate will need to provide a standard 110-volt electrical outlet in a convenient location where the vehicles can be charged overnight. NYSERDA will attempt to acquire the PHEV hardware under the conditions that service and support (including the installation) would be done locally. The equipment to be installed will likely include a computerized data-acquisition system, so that data can be collected quickly, easily, and accurately. The data will be used to monitor the performance of the PHEV systems, and to provide data summarized in program reports.

STAFF CONTACT

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© 2004 New York State Energy Research and Development Authority