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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Mitsubishi, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, At Witz End

An affordable, semi-practical, entry-level EV



I've driven a fair number of electrics over the last couple decades, beginning with General Motors' bullet-shaped 1991 Impact concept car and continuing through a progression of Geo Storm-based mules, prototype and production EV1s with both lead-acid and later range-doubling Ni-MH battery packs. And since returning to this side of the business, my list has expanded to include the Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf, MINI E, BMW ActiveE, Tesla Roadster, Smart ED and a right-drive, Japanese-market Mitsubishi i-MiEV.

All have shared the EV blessings of strong, near-silent, shiftless acceleration, home "refueling" and no more gas station stops with fluctuating fuel prices. All have also shared the EV curses of big, heavy, expensive batteries, the resulting high purchase/lease prices and (excluding the Volt) limited range, long recharge times and occasional range anxiety.

Most recent EV encounters have been brief - a few miles around town or a parking lot. But last year I was fortunate to enjoy a working week with a Volt and a couple days with a Leaf (see past columns). And I was recently offered a three-day loan of a U.S.-spec Mitsubishi i.

Continue reading Reevaluating the Mitsubishi i-MiEV in context, at home

Reevaluating the Mitsubishi i-MiEV in context, at home originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 24 May 2012 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Emerging Technologies, EV/Plug-in, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, EVS

If you had to name one of the biggest game-change moments that the electric vehicle could bring to the world, try this one:

Every prior attempt to electrify the car has assumed the vehicle would be the energy carrier. By comparison, the grid is much more efficient at moving energy from point A to point B, so if you can make dynamic charging safe and affordable, you are truly introducing something new.

That's the vision of Jeff Muhs, director of Strategy and Business Development for Utah State University's Energy Dynamics Laboratory (EDL), whom we spoke with at the 26th Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS26) in Los Angeles recently. Dynamic charging is another way to say charging while a vehicle is moving by using in-road wireless charging units, something that USU has been working on for a while.

Most people believe that in-motion charging is inevitable.

For now, USU is focusing on stationary wireless charging and will launch an electric bus route later this summer in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah campus. The electric bus will travel along a mile-and-a-half route, stopping at either end for a few minutes to charge up. Using a bus at this stage makes sense as a way to test the technology because it's big, it travels along a fixed route and there is recharge time built into the schedule. An electric bus also helps reduce noise and emissions on campus, which is something the university wanted. USU's wireless charging team is also working on improving the space tolerance (making the charger work even if things are not perfectly aligned), the power levels (systems that are 20-50 kW instead of just 5-10 kW) and efficiencies.

Continue reading EVS: Utah State University quietly working on in-road wireless charging

EVS: Utah State University quietly working on in-road wireless charging originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 18 May 2012 19:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, EVS

One can think about conspiracy theories that maybe that's the way they wanted it be.

The Nissan Leaf is the most mainstream electric vehicle in the U.S., and it has a CHAdeMO DC fast-charge option. Ecotality's Blink network offers CHAdeMO chargers. Ecotality is the managing organization behind The EV Project, which recently announced it had collected information on 24 million electric vehicle miles. So, if any group would have an opinion about the potential challenge to CHAdeMO from the SAE combo charger announcement, Ecotality would be that group.

To find out, we spoke with Donald Karner, Ecotality's chief innovation officer, who said what others in the charging business told us during the Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS26): the cars - and EV buyers - will dictate which standard wins.

"We're in the infrastructure business," Karner said. "We supply infrastructure to fuel advanced vehicles. We've done hydrogen, we do level 2 AC. On the DC side, if and when vehicles come to market that utilize the combo connector in sufficient numbers that justifies us making the investment in installing those connectors and developing chargers that will operate under that protocol, of course we will."

Can we accommodate two different standards? Yeah, we can do that. Is it going to cost more? Absolutely.

As you can see in the picture above, the Blink fast charger is dual port. "We did that a year and a half ago," Karner said. "The guys back here [he indicates a competitor's booth] are now saying, 'oh, what everybody should do is dual port so that you can do CHAdeMo on one side and combo on the other side. Well, that's exactly why we did that. A year and a half ago, we went to the SAE and said, 'look, you guys have a problem. You are two years behind schedule. DC fast chargers are coming, the Nissan Leaf with CHAdeMo is coming. We're sitting here as an EVSP [electric vehicle service provider] and we have to build a charger to service this. There's no U.S. standard. What are you guys going to do?' And the answer from the SAE committee was, 'Not our problem. We don't care. We're going to focus on J1772 AC and that's all we can do at one time.'

Now, there are clearly some competitive issues in there (between the automakers) so here the auto industry has shot itself in the foot again. Can we accommodate two different standards? Yeah, we can do that. Is it going to cost more than having one standard? Absolutely it's going to cost more. Fast charging is already very expensive and the auto companies, because they couldn't get along and are going to squabble, just like they did last time with inductive and conductive, are going to shoot themselves in the foot."

Continue reading EVS: After 24 million EV miles, Ecotality and Blink are ready for both CHAdeMO and SAE

EVS: After 24 million EV miles, Ecotality and Blink are ready for both CHAdeMO and SAE originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 17 May 2012 17:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, EVS

Coulomb Technologies' big news at EVS26 was a collaboration with Fuji Electric Corporation of America to add Fuji's 25-kW DC Quick Charging Stations into the ChargePoint Network. In fact, the very first such charger on the network was sitting there in the booth, and actual deployment in the U.S. is scheduled for later this year. Coulomb is already neck-deep in actual deployments of electric vehicle charging stations: more that 6,300 non-residential stations are online now and Coulomb says that about half of all EV drivers in the U.S. have a ChargePoint card. To get the latest, we spoke with Coulomb's Michael Jones about the Multicharge SF program and - yes - the SAE combo charger announcement.

It's like the museum tour of electricity. It's really kind of scary.

First, about Multicharge SF, which is a partnership with the City of San Francisco, Coulomb and PG&E and is funded by the California Energy Commission. The goal, perhaps unsurprisingly for San Francisco, where upwards of 60 percent of people live in multi-family units, is to find a way for apartment dwellers to recharge their EVs. Jones said the city government took the lead and identified places where chargers would be most useful, then reached out to the property owners to get them interested. In the end, about 70 different properties applied to be a part of the $900,000 program - and around 45-50 of them will be selected to actually get some of the total of about 100 chargers. "[The locations] represent all the different demographics: large properties and small properties, condos, co-ops, TICs [tenant in common, which means one mortgage for multiple units] and rental communities," Jones said. The variety extends to different income brackets as well as new and old properties. "One of the things we ran into early on is that there are some incredibly old power systems in San Francisco. Glass tubes in the fuse boxes. It's like the museum tour of electricity. It's really kind of scary."

The only way to get this many different groups involved was to start with a diverse set of partners. "It has to be a multi-stakeholder proposition to really work in the region," he said. "If I didn't have the city out with its resources, legal and building codes and everything else, it would be impossible for me to organize all those things. It really becomes a great template that other cities and public-private partnerships can use."

For example, Jones said, there's a rule in San Francisco that says that if you charge money for a parking space, you need to register as a parking operator. So, how does that apply to EVs? Does every building owner who installs a charger then need to go get a parking license? The city attorney is currently researching the answer to this question, he said, adding that the mayor standing by to quickly go to bat and get the rules changed if it is determined that the answer is "yes."

With its Chargepoint Network, Coulomb doesn't really care what connector people are using to get their cars on the grid. As long as the communication systems are there, Chargepoint can work with whatever kind of charging station is out there. But he did have a few things to say about the SAE combo charger. Specifically, that it doesn't encourage fast infrastructure deployment.

"Having that Level 2 standard [J1772] gives certainty to drivers," Jones said. "With fast charging, because you still have competing standards, I think that makes it a pilot proposition for a lot of communities as far as really getting behind a specific charger type. I think until the market coalesces around a technology, you're still just going to see a lot of uncertainty about what to deploy on any large scale."

As Coulomb works to solve some of the infrastructure problems, others arise. The trick is to not have partners hesitate too much, and so get as many chargers into use as makes sense.

Continue reading EVS: Coulomb readying San Francisco with 100 stations, finds "museum tour of electricity"

EVS: Coulomb readying San Francisco with 100 stations, finds "museum tour of electricity" originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 16 May 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Emerging Technologies, EV/Plug-in, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, EVS

There's a good reason that Aerovironment proudly displayed the 20-year-old EV1 in its booth at the Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS26): it's not a newcomer.

Aerovironment's Wahid Nawabi, the senior vice president and general manager of efficient energy systems, told AutoblogGreen the car illustrates that the company has decades of experience with plug-in vehicles.

"The cornerstone of our message in this booth is the EV1, which is a vehicle that is considered by the industry as the mother of the modern electric vehicle," he said. "We were the co-developer of that product back in the [19]89-90 time frame. We have this vehicle here to demonstrate that we understand EVs, we're involved in this and we have a deep history."

That history means Aerovironment has a variety of offerings for companies looking for a charging station supplier, he said. "We are probably the best company that has an entire, end-to-end offering, a one-stop-shop in terms of charging. So, whether you need software capabilities, network subscriptions, chargers of all types or pretty much anything else, we offer all those categories," Nawabi said.

Which means AV has a stake in the most interesting charging story at EVS26, the new SAE combo charger for DC fast charging. This plug was announced in Los Angeles but has been in the works for a while, and Nawabi said Aerovironment was involved in the standards discussion over Level One and Two chargers and has been involved with the Combo charger from day one. "We were involved in the charging standards for years," he said. "In fact, we were one of the first proponents of coming up with some sort of standard." The official news of the combo charger was great, he said. "We are very excited there is a standard," he said. "It is not a standard there are a lot of cars for, so it is something very new. Today's demand in the market is for the CHAdeMO charger, which we offer. If the market were to change, we intend to support it. We are standard agnostic."

There has been a lot of discussion about the combo charger, but it's a fight that Nawabi said is not really that important - right now. He said:

People are making a big deal about a standard that there is not a lot of market for, yet. I believe that one uniform standard that everyone can agree to is very positive for the industry. Whether that ends up being CHAdeMO or combo or something different, to me it's semantics. Today, the standard that makes the most sense for the consumer is CHAdeMO because that's out there and that's what the cars are shipping with. So, should that be the one? I think that makes a lot of sense. You can argue that one is better, I'm sure. But it's what's better for you, an apple or an orange? If you're hungry, you need food.

Since the cars on the ground from Nissan and Mitsubishi accept CHAdeMO, AeroVironment has a number of CHAdeMO chargers installed in places like Texas, Oregon and Hawaii. Nawabi said EV drivers today are happy because these stations support the cars that they bought. "The consumer is just looking for something that works and allows them to charge fast, at the end of the day," he said.

EVS: Aerovironment's been around long enough to not pick sides in SAE/CHAdeMO debate originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 15 May 2012 09:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Toyota, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, EVS

Last week, Toyota unveiled the all-new RAV4 EV and announced two important numbers: a $49,800 MSRP and a sales target of just 2,600 over the next three years. There's more to the story, though, as told to us by Bob Carter, group vice president and general manager of Toyota Division at Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. The short version is that Toyota has taken the Prius lesson incredibly seriously.

We are the first to market with an SUV and we think that counts for quite a bit.

To wit: in creating the new Prius family, Toyota listened to the Prius rejectors about why they were not going to buy a Prius. They wanted more room (now see the Prius V) or a lower price (Prius C). Carter said that the strategy worked, and that 79 percent of Prius C buyers and 67 percent of Prius V buyers are new to hybrid technology. The Prius Plug-In went through the same process, going on the road for over two years before launch. The hybrid represents Toyota's "small battery approach to electrification" and has sold surprisingly well thus far. With the RAV4 EV, Carter said, "We've created a compelling product," with "full Toyota quality," he said. Even though the RAV4 EV went from concept to production in less than two years. A typical vehicle takes almost four years. "There was no template for this project. There were no guidelines. Just a challenge to bring to market a premium EV. Toyota and Tesla engineers both rose to that challenge," he said.

Continue reading EVS: Why Toyota set sales numbers for RAV4 EV at just 2,600

EVS: Why Toyota set sales numbers for RAV4 EV at just 2,600 originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 14 May 2012 11:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, China, EVS

Called the "world's first e-quadricycle," a small EV from Ample International was on display at the Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS26) in Los Angeles this week. Named the Eo, the one-seat (or two- or three-seat) vehicle has a maximum speed of 65 kilometers per hour (40 miles per hour) and has a range of 200 km (124 miles), according to a representative at the booth. Ample's Shida Zheng told the Neon Tommy website, that, "It is a four-wheeled motorcycle, completely powered by electricity."

The design is certainly interesting. There are no side mirrors, as the Eo relies instead on backward-facing cameras that pump a live feed into a screen on the left side of the wraparound dashboard. The interior is unlike any other vehicle we've seen, with a driver's seat up front and a flexible space in back that has two seats that can fold down from the sides of the vehicle, sort of like on trains. Since they're directly across from each other, we imagine knees will be touching.

EVS: Ample Eo electric vehicle claims "world's first e-quadricycle" title originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sat, 12 May 2012 08:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, EVS

Brian Wynne recently wrote an article for Politico with the clear title: "Stop bashing electric cars." Wynne, the president of the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA), helmed the 26th Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS26) in Los Angeles this week and sat down with AutoblogGreen to talk about why he had to defend his industry. The short version? Someone had to step up. As Wynne said:

I think what's taken me a little bit by surprise has been the extent to which the commentary has been based on completely false premises or bad information. I would go so far as to say that some of the commentary have been designed to spread bad information, which I would call not uncommon in political circles today. But certainly I would call it misguided, given that this community is growing in support around the country and questions are still begged as to how we address the challenges that are out there.

In Washington, we used to say you're entitled to your own opinion but not your own facts and people are starting to stretch that now, and I think that's wrong. Somebody had to stand up and say, 'Knock it off. Stop making stuff up.' If you want to argue over whether or not this is happening fast enough, let me know when, let me know where. If you want to argue over whether or not the taxpayer is getting a return on their investment, let me know when, let me know where. We should be extremely careful about how we spend the public purse, but that's a debate that reasonable men can have, as we would say, and then can disagree.

One the article was published (you can read it here), it energized a lot of people, Wynne said, and he learned that the EV community is ready to engage the debate. Given the state of discussion around plug-ins in the U.S. today, "Obviously, we've got more work to do," on educating the public about EVs, but some hurdles are unfairly high, Wynne said:

Could we have avoided the misinformation that was put out? I don't think so. I think people who are politically motivated are going to use what they can use at this stage of the game. We've gone from 'be scared' in the political commentary to 'be pissed off' and then pointing at something that you can be pissed off about. People are already pissed off, and they're going to glom onto whatever they glom onto. I can't do anything about that. Let's face it, there are a lot of people who are disgruntled, that want to pick on something, but if you're going to point at something, at least be accurate about what you're pointing at. Let's be fair and balanced, I think that would be what we used to expect from reporters, although most of this commentary that is regrettable is coming from people you would not consider fair and balanced.

Continue reading EVS: EDTA president Brian Wynne responds to right-wing attacks, says EV progress is "truly astounding"

EVS: EDTA president Brian Wynne responds to right-wing attacks, says EV progress is "truly astounding" originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 10 May 2012 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Emerging Technologies, EV/Plug-in, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, EVS

Turns out, the Enron scandal will end up benefiting electric cars.

At EVS26 in Los Angeles this week, we caught up with Arun Banskota, the president of electric vehicle services for NRG Energy, and he filled us in on some of the plug-in vehicle projects that NRG is working on. Last fall, NRG launched the first commercial-scale V2G project in Delaware and has also been installing "Freedom Stations" - EV charge stations that have a DC fast charger and a Level 2 charger - in Texas. The stated plan was to have 120 installed there by the end of 2012. Banskota said that plan is still in effect, but will take longer than originally predicted.

NRG launched the Freedom Station plans in Houston in November, 2010 and Dallas in April, 2011. Currently, there are 11 Freedom stations in operation Houston in front of places like Walgreens, HEB grocery stores, Whole Foods and Cracker Barrels and five are in operation in Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. Several more are about to be installed in both areas. NRG has committed to installing 50 of these stations in Houston, 70 in DFW. To put this into context, the first UL-certified DC fast charger became availalbe in the U.S. in September, 2011, so we're still in the early stages of the game.

"First, we had a very expidited schedule, but now, as we talk with our consumers, I think once we get a core - probably around 25 in Houston and maybe 30-35 in Dallas-Fort Worth - we're going to be much more strategic in terms of where, exactly, we place them as EV adoption grows," Banskota told AutoblogGreen. "Our target is to have at least 25 in Houston by the end of this year and probably around the same number in Dallas-Fort Worth by the end of this year and I'm guessing we get to 50 by the end of 2013 in Houston and 70 in Dallas-Fort Worth by the middle of 2014." Banskota added that, "Not very loudly, but we've also committed to the Washington and Baltimore market and California will be next for us" (that's the Enron tie, as described below).

How much do these Freedom Stations get used? Some are visited by electron-hungry vehicles six or seven times a day, some just once every other day. NRG recognizes that most charging takes place at home, but that the public chargers have an effect even when they're not being used. "Seeing them gives [EV drivers] a certain comfort level, that they can drive their EVs even when they may not need to get a charge," Banskota said.

Continue reading EVS: How Enron's 2001 mess leads to more plug-in vehicle chargers from NRG Energy today

EVS: How Enron's 2001 mess leads to more plug-in vehicle chargers from NRG Energy today originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 10 May 2012 15:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Manufacturing/Plants, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, EVS, Coda Automotive

The 26th annual Electric Vehicle Symposium is taking place in Los Angeles, CA this week and the biggest news items are the details on the new Toyota RAV4 EV and the SAE-approved DC fast charging combo plug. But there is much more here on the show floor, and things got off to a good start during the opening session hosted by EDTA president Brian Wynne.

Wynne claimed EVS26 is the largest EVS ever held in North America. That's not all that surprising, since it's been many years since the last time an EVS was held on this continent (EVS23 in Anaheim in 2007). Since then, EVS has traveled to Norway and China, and moves on to Barcelona, Spain next year and Seoul, Korea after that. As that Wynne made clear, electric vehicles are a global movement. Nissan has sold more than 28,000 Leafs worldwide (including 1,000 in Norway, where EVS24 was held). Other signs Wynne mentioned that EVs are making inroads into the public consciousness are China's ambitious plan to sell five million EVs by 2020, the Ford Focus Electric acting as pace car for NASCAR and BMW's huge fleet of plug-ins at the Olympics in London this summer.

EVS organizers then gave an E-Visionary award to the city of Los Angeles and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (pictured). The mayor said he was glad to receive the award, but quickly added that Angelinos still need to be encouraged to do more. "If we're the car capitol of the United States, we should be the electric vehicle capitol of the United States," he said. To that end, he talked about how BYD and Coda Automotive are located in the city, then announced that Boulder Electric Vehicle will establish a west coast manufacturing facility in a state enterprise zone in the city. From there, the company will be able to make up to 1,000 clean trucks a year, with an eye to exporting vehicles to Asia.

Then there was a wide-ranging panel on the state of the electric vehicle industry called "Electrified Transportation: A Path to Economic Prosperity and Energy Security." This was moderated by Chris Woodyard of USA Today and featured Ted Craver, the chairman, president & CEO of Edison International, Daryl Dulaney, president & CEO of Siemens Industry, Tony Posawatz, the vehicle line director for the Chevrolet Volt, and JB Straubel, the CTO of Tesla Motors. You can listen to or download the whole thing down below.

Continue reading EVS: Why LA is the right place for this year's biggest electric vehicle conference

EVS: Why LA is the right place for this year's biggest electric vehicle conference originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 09 May 2012 15:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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